What’s wrong with today’s kids? Why don’t they want to build rockets like I did when I was younger? Why aren’t they as interested as I was in the space program? I hear these kinds of questions all the time – when I was developing video games I was even blamed for helping destroy kid’s initiative. Well, I hate to be the person who bursts the bubble on this, but there’s nothing wrong with today’s kids. Times have changed and our children’s interests have changed with them. Couple that with the NerfWorld that we, as adults, have tried to create and you have kids who would rather play with computers than build things.

Did you know that many schools across the country have eliminated all industrial arts classes because they are afraid they will get sued if a student gets hurt using a sharp tool? It’s no wonder that so many youngsters avoid hobbies that require building skills - they haven't been taught any. I've worked with students building rockets for the Team America Rocketry Challenge who had never seen an X-acto knife or a coping saw and had no idea what to do with them! They had never even heard of epoxy! This is not the fault of the children, it's the fault of the adults charged with their upbringing and education - it's our fault!

We’ve helped create the problem so now we have to roll up our sleeves and help fix it!

The first thing we need to do is reach out to educators and make sure they are aware that our clubs exist and that they and their students are welcome to attend. Do the same thing for Scout and 4-H leaders. Take up a collection from the club members and do a make-n-take with local kids. Make sure the kits are very easy to build and help them with each construction step – don’t allow any of them to fail. Make sure they get to fly their rocket and give them some kind of certificate showing their accomplishment.

Once they’ve built and flown their rocket, some of them will come back with their parents and maybe their friends. Help them all get involved. Keep inexpensive, simple to build kits on hand to have something to give to spectators who show up to your launches. These people have lready demonstrated an interest in the hobby by being there. Give them something that will help insure that they come back and get involved.

After the kids have been coming to the launches for awhile, introduce them to some simple competition, but don’t dwell on the endless stream of rules that are the hallmark of most rocketry contests. Throw the NAR Pink Book away and do something easy like spot landing. It needs to be something that can be flown with ready to fly rockets purchased at the local WalMart. Kids are still competitive so make use of that trait.

Our local club, Rocketeers of Central Indiana (ROCI, NAR #625) has implemented a new plan for next year. First, any child age 17 and younger is given a free membership to our club. Children who are not flying HPR never have to pay launch fees at any ROCI launch. Finally, since we fly at the AMA Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana, all children are given a free 1 year membership in the AMA.

It’s working! We are getting a lot of new kids to our launches each month. The other clubs around the country can do it too, but it takes some effort. These kids are not just the future of our hobby, they are the future of our world so I hope more of you will put forth the effort to help them learn and mature.

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	1. Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it on 12-11-2007 12:55
	Model Rocketry Today Things have sure changed since i got into the hobby over 43 years ago.  The space race was in full gear, youngsters were glued to theeir TV set, waiting to see the next "space adventure" and, also to recreate it with home made rockets. Thus, the beginning of the hobby as we know it today.    But, on the other hand, today, families have two working, and parents are hard pressed to have any time to devote to their children, other than their basic needs.    Years ago, family members joined in and attended launches, it was great to see family participation.     Now, due to family finances, with both parents working, kids are basically "on thier own" to find something to do.    I guess the best choice is either video games or the computer, besides Ipods, cell phones, pagers and the like.    I use to put on Make-It take it at our county annual 4 H Fair, we would build on Friday and Saturday, with a launch on Sunday.    Usually , we built nearly 100 kits in two days, but, on Sunday, the day of the launch, only about a dozen kids would show up to launch.    I guess the die hard enthusiasts were the one to join us on Sunday.    At one time I offered my help in starting a club in our local middle school, the response was, "It will cost too much and the kids wouldn't be interested anyway".    How much would it have cost them, the price of a basic kit, how much do video games cost?    All we can do is help out in anyway that we can, promoting the hobby through our local hobby shops, going into the schools and contacting local clubs such as the 4 H and Scouts, and try to generate interest in our great hobby.    Unfortunately, space has become a past time, the shuttle goes up and the shuttle comes down, and, the news in buried deep within the pages of the newspaper.    Even the news media can be blamed for such little coverage it gets.    It seems knowadays, only the bad news is reported, and there is a lot of good stuff going on, but, the good stuff doesn't sell newspapers nor , catches the eyes of TV viewers.    Hopefully, this pattern can change ,but, we must all work together for a common goal , to promote the hobby, so, the hobby can survive another 50 years.    I'm just glad that I stuck with it from elementary school, and I don't regret it one moment.

	2. Written by Mario Perdue on 12-11-2007 12:54
	Model Rocketry Today Fortunately we are entering a time when there could be two space races running simultaneously. The Chinese seem to be wanting to start a new race to the moon and beyond. While the commercial arena in space is also heating up with Rocketplane Global, Virgin Galactic and other start-ups trying to open space to "normal" people. These activities are sure to spark a little interest in rocketry so we need to be ready to take advantage of it.    Keep working with the kids - they're worth it.    MP

	3. Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it on 12-11-2007 11:17
	Model Rocketry Today Another point that I would like to make, we had the X-Prize competition two years ago, Brian Binney became the first "civilian astronaut", the glory was short lived, a blurb on the news, and if you were to ask who Binney is, I don't think that many could remember.  I do hope that upcoming "space races" do spark interest in a rebirth of the space age, only time will tell.    At least we have space camp, and other programs that have kept the dream alive for space exploration.    With the 50th anniversary of the hobby next year, I would hope that be can start a new generation of rocketeers as we did 50 years ago, it will take some work, but, it can be done.    We should make it our goal to promote the hobby for the 50th and beyond.

	4. Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it on 15-11-2007 13:51
	Another Approach to Youth Involvement Having been involved with 4-H and Scouts for the past decade, I can tell you from experience that it is easy to become discouraged about youth involvement in rocketry. I used to struggle with the issue, but I?m now at peace. How? I changed my thinking. I accept the reality that I cannot successfully compete for a child?s (or parent?s) time. Rather than dwell on what I cannot control, I?ve decided to put my efforts on those things that I can do to make rocketry attractive to those children who do attend a launch event:    (1) Bring a simple rocket kit that is ready to fly once a motor is inserted (e.g. an Estes Alpha), so a child can fly it if they only have a short time to attend;  (2) Bring a package of motors and a few spare parts, so a child can fly a rocket they build or borrow at the event;  (3) Bring building materials to assemble a rocket with a child at the launch event. This would include CA glue, yellow glue, and hobby knife;  (4) Stop flying my rockets long enough to help the child who wants to build a rocket, who needs to repair a broken rocket or doesn?t know what to do next;  (5) Give some words of encouragement and praise, and show some interest in their rockets (and in them). Nothing motivates us more than personal attention!  (6) Be willing to share information about the rockets I bring to the launch, so children can learn by seeing the work of others;  (7) Offer to host an event close to home if there are children who can?t make it to the club launch. I?ve hosted several TARC teams, because I live in open country outside the city.    At the launch, it?s so easy get so wrapped up in my rocket (prepping that dual-deploy, ?M? motored project), that I don?t ever think about helping anybody else.     In addition, there are things that our club could do to encourage children. For example, we can:  (1) Make rocketry affordable?or even free?for our young people. As Mario said in his blog, this is one we?ve adopted within ROCI;  (2) Keep a stash of kits and motors for young people who attend. Gee, I?d love to attend a launch where I got a free pack of motors to fly! (and so would that 12 year old);  (3) Make the topic of ?what can we do for young people?? a standing topic at every club meeting--so we never forget it;  (4) Provide lots of pads for model rocket flights at every club launch (I remember an HPR launch where the smallest launch rod was 1/4 inch. I saw one young boy crying to his father because he couldn?t fly his rocket);  (5) Donate a couple of rocket kits to give away in a raffle to any ?under 18? flyers at the launch.    I know there are many more ideas out there. We can work harder at exciting the children who come, because we CAN control our launch. We can work to excite the children who attend. If we can excite one child, they?ll share that enthusiasm with a friend, and we now have two children at the next launch. Let?s try a different formula for success: instead of counting the seeds in the apple, let?s see how many apples we can get from a seed.    Mark Newton  Lebanon, IN  ROCI Member

	5. Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it on 29-12-2007 22:27
	We created problem, now time to fix it Mark Newton had a lot say. I agree 100%!! I'm a BAR and an Eagle Scout from 39 years ago. Just joined a 4H Rocket Club. All of Marks ideas and comments r right on! It does get frustrating at times but we CAN change that by making club meeting intersting. Cudos to Mark.

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