Quote from Eric Becher on September 25, 2022, 12:00 am

24 September 2022

Earlier today CENJARS participated in "Wall Kids Day America '22" at the Wall Municipal Complex, not far from our launch field. Weather was a little chilly in the morning, but it turned into a beautiful day for flying. The event was well attended overall by lots of families and exhibitors. Music, food, and other vendors were on hand including pony rides, petting zoo, and of course - ROCKETS! Once word got out (aided by the whoosh of our rockets being launched) we attracted a steady stream of kids and parents wanting to learn about rocketry and see what we were about. We set up a couple of display tables full of our pride and joy rockets. We also held launch demonstrations frequently as we explained to the crowd the differences in motors and the basics of rocketry. The field was small, so we were limited to planet probes and small streamer and free-fall rockets. By the end of the 4 hours of flying demos, I'd say we launched around 70-80 rockets, saw a few hundred folks, and answered a thousand questions. Along the way we told a few jokes (none worth repeating), met some nice people, and had a great afternoon in the perfect fall weather.

These events help raise awareness of our hobby and sustain or grow our Club. Hopefully we also ignite that spark in the mind of a young man or woman that sets them on a path to future careers in science, aeronautics or maybe even someday going to Mars! (hopefully we can get them better jokes by then)

A few pictures will be posted in the Gallery. Check them out, and come join us next time we have a demo or outreach launch. They are a lot of fun and time well spent with young kids. Thanks to Brian, Charlie, Eric and Evan for working the event. With a couple more CENJARS members helping out we could also run a make-it/take-it activity where the kids can build and fly a rocket on the spot to then take home. A great way to get new kids involved in Rocketry!