Challenge / Situation:
We had a group of students interested in participating in the Team America Rocketry Challenge, an engineering competition in which students design and construct a rocket capable of carrying a raw egg as close as possible to a height of 750 feet and returning it safely as close to 45 seconds as possible.
How things worked with New Town solutions:
Because our school had never participated in this program before, we did not have a budget for purchasing any materials. On the getSTEM website I read that New Town Solutions was offering a grant for a robotics competition, and when I later met Dave Neville from New Town Solutions and told him about our rocket competition, and he actually suggested that we apply for a grant from New Town Solutions because they were really interested in helping students experience engineering.
How you used the offer:
The grant money was first used to purchase rocket design software, and remaining funds were used to purchase a launch pad and construction materials for the rocket.
Overall experience / feedback from students:
I am very grateful to Christine Smith and everybody at New Town Solutions for their willingness to help build our program; their generosity has excited the students as they start the engineering process and begin designing their rocket.