HOUSTON (July 2, 2018) – A dozen student-built rockets defied gravity last week to sail into a bright, clear Houston sky, as the parking lot at Lone Star College-North Harris’ Victory Center was transformed into a rocket launch site.
The homemade rockets were built by children enrolled in the college’s Discovery College, a summer camp designed to expose middle school youth to summer learning opportunities focused on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs and provide them with an early connection to Lone Star College.
The week-long camp hosted 24 students aged 11 through 14.
Students were offered two classes: Game Design and Rocket Science. In Game Design, students explored game design software to create computer games with fantasy characters and environments, while in Rocket Science, students designed and built their own interplanetary spaceship from scratch.
The week of fun culminated with the launching of solid-fuel rockets designed and built by students with help from camp instructors.
Pat Chandler, director of continuing education at LSC-Kingwood, was proud of the program’s success.
“Students are really enjoying it,’ she said prior to the rocket launch last Thursday. “Each day, all students are returning, which says a lot for the program. You could tell they were having a good time.”
One student even walked to camp on launch day because “he didn’t want to miss his class,” Chandler shared.
Discovery College is one of several efforts by Lone Star College and LSC-Victory Center to support Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Complete Communities Initiative Action Plan for the Acres Homes community. Complete Communities seeks to improve Houston neighborhoods and ensure residents and business owners have access to quality services and amenities, including education.
“One of the goals of both LSC-North Harris and the future Houston North campus is to garner interest in college while students are still in elementary and middle school,” said Dr. Quentin Wright, LSC interim vice chancellor for academic success. “Thanks to our strong partnerships with the local school districts, these interests will often turn into dual credit opportunities or other specific pathways that provide students with extra preparation for college.”
Lone Star College will continue to support the Complete Communities Initiative through future Career Exploration Days, a closer relationship with the Beulah Shepherd-Acres Homes Neighborhood Library, and workforce programming at LSC-Victory Center.
A final week of Discovery College is still enrolling at LSC-North Harris. For more information, visit http://www.lonestar.edu/youth-classes-northharris.htm