Garfield Elementary rocket science program a launching pad for fun, learning

For the fifth-graders at Garfield Elementary School, the best part of rocket science was coming back to earth.

On a breezy Tuesday afternoon at Andrew Rypien Field, about 50 students exercised their legs as much as minds while their creations drifted unpredictably above their heads.

Each had built a rocket for the project, and each was determined to follow it to the ends of the earth to catch it before it hit the ground.

The reward for that was a can of soda pop – a cheap incentive that created some priceless moments for kids, parents and teacher Sam Stachovsky.

Now in his 20th year of mentoring young rocketeers, Stachovsky told the group their rockets would fly hundreds of feet in one direction before drifting back toward the launch site after their parachutes opened.

But did they listen? No.

Most ran toward the contrails before backpedaling, as classmates cheered.

“Happens every year,” Stachovsky said.

So does learning.

Terri Fortner has seen four of her children learn about rocket science, which is part of Spokane Public Schools’ emphasis on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education.

“They think it’s just fascinating,” Fortner said as her youngest, Michael, prepared his rocket for launch. “They tend to spend a little more time on science and STEM, instead of thinking of it as just another science class.”

The rockets are simple, but the project wouldn’t be possible without a $500 contribution from Rotary. Made of a paper tube with plastic nozzle, they are powered by the same type of powder that lights up a firecracker. The rockets are placed on tubes and fired electronically.

As Stachovsky prepared the launch apparatus, students wondered aloud who had the most attractive designs, which ran the gamut from pink flowers to bold stripes.

They also tried to guess how far their rockets would travel.

That’s where the science came in. “We’ve tied it into STEM ideas,” said Stachovsky, who crafted a lesson on gravity around a man made of Lego pieces.

The students learned that a Lego man equipped with a parachute would fall 13 feet per second. At launch, the idea would be to count the time of his descent to measure the height of the rocket’s trajectory.

Alas, the winds picked up and rocket Lego man was carried far to the north, never to be seen again.