Kids had a blast at Cantigny Park, playing with engine-powered, foot-powered, and air-powered rockets: the three types of rockets kids could learn from at Cantigny’s Military Rocket Science program.
“We’re teaching kids the difference between a rocket and a missile,” said Jackie Gillaspie, program and volunteer facilitator with Cantigny Park. “A rocket is something that you cannot guide once fired, a missile is something that can be guided once fired.”
Kids learned about the military history of rockets, how portable versions were used in World War II, and even got to hold a bazooka.
They also got to learn first-hand by building their own model rockets, which they got to launch and, if it landed in one piece, take home.
“This model, the height is really dependent on how well the rocket has been made but it can go hundreds of feet into the air,” said Gillaspie.
“I named it Amethyst MK1 because Amethyst is my favorite rock, and purple is my favorite color,” said rocket builder Matthew Day.
Giving kids the chance to blast-off their imagination this summer.
Cantigny will be holding three more military science rocket programs this summer.
Naperville News 17’s Blane Erwin reports.
