Would-be scientists from Boy Scout Troop 99 filled the air with rockets over the weekend at Bartlett High School.
About 50 boys ages 11 to 17 gathered to launch the rockets they built during a recent scout meeting. The Scouts, some of whom have been launching rockets for the past five years, are from Wayne, Bartlett, West Chicago, Carol Stream, St. Charles and Hanover Park.
The rockets, as small as 2 inches high and as big as 6 feet, are made from everyday items such as paper towel tubing or might be built from a kit, said Ed Tomczak of Wayne, troop committee chairman. Adults supervise the boys as they electronically launch their rockets, which are propelled with a solid-fuel engine.
The program “teaches scientific principles of rocketry and assists them in earning the scientific exploration merit badge,” Tomczak said. “This is a fun sport with no competition.”
For some boys, rocketry has become a hobby.
Zack Johnson of West Chicago has built about 20 rockets. He said he has fired two or three rockets at the three Scout rocket launches he attended. He builds and launches rockets on his own time.
Zack, an 8th grader at Ellis Middle School in Elgin, rates his rockets by how many “wows and how did you do that” comments.
Not so lucky was Mike Nyman, 14, of Carol Stream, who admitted the first of his two rockets did not fly on Sunday. Mike has been to at least four launches. He determined the problem, he said, and plans another try next spring.
