Robert Ponder - 2nd Place @ Aerospace Competition!!

Name:  Robert Ponder

Grade:  11

What he does:

Robert finished 2nd at the 57th Annual National 4-H Engineering, Science and Leadership Event in West Lafayete, Indiana held September 23 - 25, 2007.  He competed in the Aerospace division, one of the nine contests in the event.  The event drew in 52 contestants from 12 states.  Areas of competition included aerospace, bicycle, computer, electric, lawn tractor, small engines, tractor, and welding.  All the contestants had won county and state competitions to qualify for the national event.  The contest consisted of a history test on space exploration, rocket parts identifications test, an interview, a safety interview at the launch and 3 launches requiring a specified altitude and accuracy.

What got him started / interested:

Robert began building rockets when he was 5 years old in 4-H.  His interest soon was drawn to designs that were not found in the normal rocket kit.  By leraning the physics of rocketry, Robert was able to build rockets such as a water tower, a tw-stage rocket with parachutes in both stages, a folding wooden fin pneumatic bottle rocket, and an Estes type rocket out of 2 liter bottles with parachutes that eject from the sides.

Any addtional information:

Each state was able to send two contestants in each division.  The other Ohio participant in Aerospace placed 5th.  To prepare for this event, Robert designed rockets placing first at the county level and was awarded the First Place Clock Trophy in 2006 with the Estes type rockout of 2 liter bottles with parachutes that eject from the sides.  In 2007, he also was awarded the First Place Clock Trophy with a folding wooden fin pneumatic bottle rocket.  He was also nominated at the county level to participate in the National Aerospace Qualifier at the State Level.  By winning the First Place Clock Trophy in the National Aerospace Qualifier, Robert was eligible to represent Ohio at the National 4-H Engineering, Science and Leadership Event.

note:  Pictures will be added soon.   Please check back!!

**Congratulations to Robert Ponder for his success at the National 4-H Engineering, Science and Leadership Event and for being recognized as a "Cougar in Action."

Posted by: The EDGE

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