AU Aerospace Engineering students help middle schoolers build an - KFVS12 News & Weather Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Poplar Bluff

Students from AU's Aerospace Engineering program and 700 Drake Middle School students teamed up Thursday to launch rockets, all with the goal of encouraging careers in the science industry.

"It's a lot better than taking notes," says seventh grader, Gracie Davis.

After two days of education and preparation, AU aerospace engineers and 7th grade students from Drake Middle School took learning to the sky and launched their rocket creations.

"This is the result of a three day program that we've been doing as an educational outreach program as part of our University Student Launch Initiative Rocket Team that NASA puts on. There's an education component that they like us to do and reach 200 students, but I think we are reaching about 700 students," explains AU Aerospace Engineering student, AJ Pollard.Students spent Tuesday learning about rockets and Wednesday they were able to build their own.

"Our rocket was designed to look like fire so when it went up it made it look like fire was coming out of the rocket," says Davis.

"We just learned about the different parts, like they couldn't launch if they did one thing wrong, like if you didn't put the parachute in right they wouldn't work," explains seventh grader, Jena Lindsay.

"I think it's very important that young students are exposed to the hand on fun stuff of science, technology, math and engineering just because whenever you're young you usually don't have a lot of fun in those subjects and so we like to come out here and give a fun hand on approach to it to glamorize what we do and hopefully at the end of the day inspire someone to chase some field in science of engineering," explains Pollard.

This is the first year the Aerospace Engineering Program has put together an educational program like this and they hope to continue it for years to come.

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