Inner-city kids learn about rocket-science and aerospace

Faces lit up in anticipation, a group of fourth- and fifth-grade students tumbled into the playground at Vermont Elementary School near USC’s University Park campus. Clutched in their hands were the straw rockets they had just finished building during a USC Dornsife Young Scientists Program (YSP) aerospace and engineering workshop being held in the school auditorium. Their excitement grew as they eagerly formed orderly lines behind six Pitsco straw rocket launchers stationed in the school yard.

The devices, lent by Raytheon, which had partnered with YSP to hold the workshop, use pneumatic force to launch the rockets, enabling the students to test out their design and conduct scientific experiments by varying the trajectory angle and launch energy. Raytheon Company is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions.

The workshop gave the students insight into the ways engineers think and the idea that failure can be a good thing, said Dieuwertje “DJ” Kast, YSP STEM program manager with USC Dornsife’s Joint Educational Project.

“As an engineer, often you’re trying to figure out why something isn’t working,” she said. “It helps you make a prototype, test it, redesign it and test it again. It’s a cycle of getting to your perfect design.” That’s what happened with the straw rockets as the students kept refining them.

Light sabers and hoverboards

The workshop kicked off with a talk by Jeffrey Tate, a senior engineering fellow at Raytheon who said he became interested in math and science when he was 12, thanks to Star Trek and the encouragement of his teachers.

Jeffrey Tate, senior engineering fellow at Raytheon, helps a student improve his design.

Tate, who as an African-American belongs to an underrepresented group in the STEM fields, provided a relatable role model for YSP students, nearly all of whom are of color. He used a mixture of popular characters from comics and props, including light sabers, to demonstrate how engineers use creativity.

One of the central points of his presentation is that all people are capable of great ideas and of making them real, he said. “I tell the kids that somebody had an idea because they were inspired by Star Wars and they came up with a model, built it and were able to make it work. And then I pull out the light sabers — a toy that required someone to do some engineering in order to make it work.”

Tate, who was introduced as an engineer and a rocket scientist, also brought his own drone and some of his science fair projects from his own childhood to show the students. He explained how those projects had sparked his interest in science as a kid and told the students that he was there to do the same for them now.

Fifth-grade teacher Krystal Kim was delighted that 10 of her students had signed up to attend the workshop.

“We don’t spend a lot of time in the classroom teaching science,” she said, “so this is great way for them to get hands-on with real scientists.”

At the workshop, students also built a miniature model of a hoverboard out of a CD, a Gatorade cap and a balloon, and several lucky students got to ride on a full-size Raytheon hoverboard made with a leaf-blower engine.

Fourth-grade student Oscar Morales, age 9, said he comes to YSP because of his love of science.

“I have always wanted to be a scientist when I grow up, and this is great training for when I become an adult.”

Sparking interest in STEM careers

Kast, who wore an astronaut-themed dress for the event, noted that all the YSP workshops are set up to demonstrate potential STEM career possibilities.

“I really want the students to see that these are potential careers for them,” she said. “I hope to ignite some type of STEM spark and the knowledge that, whether it’s in engineering or in aerospace, there are possibilities for these students.”

Kast noted that participation in YSP is split evenly between the sexes and expressed enthusiasm at seeing so many young girls sign up for the aerospace workshop. “YSP develops a pipeline for them to stay interested in STEM,” she said. “I really hope that workshops like this continue to inspire them.”

Two women engineers from Raytheon attended the workshop and Tate mentioned an African-American female character who appears in Marvel comics as an example of an amazing engineer who designed her own Iron Man suit.

“This was a wonderful way to demonstrate to girls that there are examples out there whom they can look up to as potential role models, whether in a comic book or in real life,” Kast said.