A high flying demonstration of rocketry is one of the highlights for Hardin Planetarium’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of the fist landing on the Moon. Starting at 5:00 p.m. CDT, on the lawn behind Snell Hall (corner of 14th Avenue and Chestnut Street), rockets launched with compressed air and rockets using chemical propellant will soar into the skies above the buildings of WKU’s Ogden College of Science and Engineering.

Two science teachers from Drakes Creek Middle School are in charge of Saturday evening’s launch demonstrations. Medium power model rockets will be launched under tightly controlled circumstances by volunteers with sport rocketry certification. Other launch demonstrations will feature high flying rockets constructed from soda bottles and rockets constructed during the 2:30 to 5:00 p.m. Activity Festival which is also part of the Moon Landing Celebration.

Mr. Ecil Miller, a member of the National Association of Rocketry, the national organization for sports rocketry, observed, “We are flying rockets with a mass less than 3.3 lbs (1500 grams) and with less than 4.4 oz of propellant, which means that FAA permits are not required.”

Mr. Miller has long experience with higher powered rockets. “My interest in rocketry began in high school when I was a member of our school rocket club. We competed against schools from across the US in the Team America Rocket Challenge (TARC). I became even more interested in rocketry when I began mentoring TARC teams with my mentor Jesse Sims, of Cave City.”

Zachary Vincent, 8th grade science teacher at Drakes Creek Middle School, is sharing oversight of the Rocket Launching Challenge. Mr. Vincent recalled, “My interest in rockets began at a young age when I would fly model rockets with my best friend. This combined with one of my favorite movies of all time, October Sky, pushed my interest in science.”

An interest in science is closely tied to the thrill of rocketry for Mr. Vincent, who shared, “In college I dove back into the subject with one of my mentors. With my interest sparked again, I learned the physics and chemistry involved with flight of rockets.”

Teaching science is made easier with something as exciting as rocketry to catch a student’s attention. When Mr. Miller noted that when he started teaching, “one of the first projects I introduced to my school was rocketry. Rocketry covers all STEM aspects. Students design rockets using software programs, build rockets from scratch, and use calculations to hit target altitudes. While students are doing these things, they are learning classical mechanics. It really is rocket science.”

Saturday’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing takes place at WKU’s Hardin Planetarium, Events start at 1 p.m. and continues throughout the day, at Hardin Planetarium in Bowling Green, KY. No admission is charged for any of the events and free parking is available in all WKU lots. Further details are available at https://wku.edu/go/moonlanding.

Contact info:

Ecil Miller 270-528-6599

Zach Vincent 270-779-8616

How well do you know your Apollo 11 trivia?

Join the Moon Landing Trivia Contest!

Come to Kelly Thompson Hall, room 2038, on the campus of Western Kentucky University this Saturday, July 20th. Your family and friends can see who can take home the bragging rights in this trivia challenge which starts at 5:45 PM sharp.

As part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing, the trivia contest will determine who has the deepest knowledge of the events of and details surrounding the Apollo 11 mission. Through five rounds of questions, participants will gauge their own knowledge level, learn about this important milestone in history, compete for pride, and most importantly have fun!

The entire Moon Landing Celebration, including the trivia contest, is open and free to all, and nearby parking is free as well.

Go to www.wku.edu/go/moonlanding to find out about the schedule of all of this day’s exciting activities.

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Contact: Nathan.Digges-Elliott@wku.edu

Phone: 270-745-3157