MADISON, Wis. — A group of students from Dane County embarked on an exciting journey into the world of rocketry this year.
What You Need To Know
- Madison Country Day School's newly formed rocketry club achieves remarkable success in its first year
- Out of 900 participating teams, the club landed in the top 200 in the national rocketry competition
- Mentor John Cieslak, a member of the National Association of Rocketry, guided the students in their rocket-building and launching endeavors
- The success of Madison Country Day School's rocketry club highlights the growing interest in STEM education among students in Dane County
The newly formed rocketry club at Madison Country Day School made an impressive debut in the national competition, landing in the top 200 out of 900 participating teams.
Fifteen-year-old Elliot Kozill, the founding club member, explained their dedication.
“We either put a new motor or we put a new parachute or we can add weight to make it go lower to get to the target height more efficiently,” he said.
Under the guidance of mentor John Cieslak, a member of the National Association of Rocketry, the students spent every lunch hour either launching or building rockets. Cieslak, who was involved in model rocketry as a young person, sees it as giving back to help the new generation.
Their hard work paid off, with the team achieving a high launching speed and earning high praise in the competition. There are only a dozen high school rocket clubs in Wisconsin.
Cieslak is also assisting Verona High School’s program. He mentioned that Verona’s five-year-old team came close to cracking the top 100 in the competition.
For more information about the national rocketry competition, visit the website.