Rockets for Schools shows kids science is cool. We at Alliant Energy are proud to support the event to provide an opportunity for middle and high school students nationwide to work in a simulated aerospace environment.
Since 1995, the Great Lakes Spaceport Education Foundation has hosted Rockets for Schools in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Each year, hundreds of middle and high school students from across the country come together to take part in a simulated aerospace environment.
In the months leading up to the event, teams construct a working rocket and design a payload experiment to carry aboard. One recent payload, for example, measured the conductivity of electricity as the rocket flew through various altitudes.
On the day of the competition, teams present their high power rockets and experiments to judges and the public. Students also participate in support roles like mission control, rocket recovery from Lake Michigan, video production, and tracking and assisting with rocket prep for launching. To cap it all, they get to meet a professional astronaut.
Winners of the event in the class II rocket division are eligible to apply to the NASA Student Launch Challenge, a rigorous nine-month program for aspiring space engineers. Over the years, teams from Cedar Falls, Iowa, and Madison, Wisconsin, have placed at the NASA challenge. Three former Rockets for Schools participants now work at NASA.
The support we provide helps cover things like equipment expenses, as well as the honorarium for the visiting astronaut. The program’s mission aligns with our commitment to workforce readiness and community development. It helps us get young people excited in science, technology, engineering and math.
