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A Welcome Message from Shuttle Astronaut, & NAR Trustee Dr. Jay Apt |
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Dear Educator, |
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High technology industry accounts for a quarter of growth of the US domestic product, and technology literacy is required for nearly all jobs of any description. If the US is to keep its economy strong, our future workforce must choose to enter technology-related fields. The time to build a love of technology is in middle school, and that is exactly where the greatest interest in model rocketry lies. |
| When I saw a model rocket catalog in 1962, I was 13. It led me into a wonderful adventure, with brilliant friends and great experiences. Oh yes, it also led to flying four times on the Space Shuttle and to a pair of spacewalks (both with another model rocketeer, Colonel Jerry Ross). Participation in National Association of Rocketry competitions and conventions allowed safe pursuit of an exciting hobby, and led to visits to NASA space centers where some of the annual championships were (and are) held. |
| There is no question in my mind that the skills required to design a model rocket, fly it repeatedly with high reliability, and administer the local and national parts of the rocketry organization translate directly into the high technology world of today's research and business. The hands-on construction and troubleshooting techniques and the practical mathematics I learned in model rocketry made what I learned in the classroom real and immediate. I was very fortunate to have a middle school science teacher who embraced the hobby when we started a rocket club in seventh grade; he realized that the fun of rocketry greatly enhanced classroom learning. |
| Today, model rocketry can be as simple as the hobby I pursued in school, or as fascinating as new onboard electronics and computer simulation allow it to be. The sky is no longer the limit for learning when this high tech hobby is part of the educational experience! |
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Jay Apt Jay@OrbitExperience.com www.OrbitExperience.com Back To Main Page |