Creekview High School students, of Canton GA are now celebrating after placing in the top 100 in the world’s largest student rocket contest after months of preparation. They will now be competing to win the 2013 Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) on Saturday, May 11 at Great Meadow in The Plains VA. The students representing Creekview will be the only ones to represent Georgia. TARC is the world’s largest student rocket contest that aims to inspire students to pursue education and careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
Local club, the Georgia Model Aviators (GMA) is very excited for the team, which has earned a spot as a national competitor three times. The Georgia Model Aviators encourage the student’s hobby and regularly support the program by sponsoring the team and allowing the students to use their facilities.
The amateur rocketeers on the team have worked hard to earn their spot by designing, building, and perfecting the model rockets so that can safely carry one raw egg up to an exact altitude of 750 feet up in the air and return to the ground within 48-50 seconds.
The Aeronautics Team program at Creekview began in 2008 under the direction of Tim Smyrl and Todd Sharrock, both science faculty members at the school. Says Todd, “Tim and I are so proud of how hard our students have worked to compete in this year’s competition and qualify for the national finals. These are truly exceptional kids who are destined to do great things through their creativity and innovation.”
Creekview’s team will compete for the national title which includes a great prize package of $60,000 worth of scholarships and prizes and a chance to participate in NASA’s Student Launch Initiative. Sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), the National Association of Rocketry (NAR) and more than 30 industry partners, TARC annually brings together more than 5,000 students from across the country. Participants represent a diverse group of students from urban and rural America, with a breakthrough number of all girls’ teams and teams from underserved schools.
Click here to learn more about the Georgia Model Aviators.