Strange Duck Brewing Co. in Commerce will hold a unique family event Saturday morning – a rocket building and launch program in collaboration with Southern Area Rocketry.
According to Drake Scott, owner of Strange Duck Brewing Co., the event will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, and the first 75 teams to arrive will receive a free rocket kit. After the rocket launch, Southern Area Rocketry will be providing free hamburgers and hotdogs on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Scott said the concept of holding a rocket launch worked well with the available space on the brewery’s property.
“We’re on the site of an old driving range, which we hope to get back functional here in the near future, but in the meantime that works very good for events like that,” Scott said.
Scott said the President of Southern Area Rocketry, Jorge Blanco, first reached out to Strange Duck Brewing Co. about hosting the event and holding an educational event for families on rocketry.
“They reached out and basically we were gung-ho and all onboard right from the beginning,” Scott said.
According to Blanco, when the event kicks off at 9:30, SoAR will start by handing out Estes Alpha III rocket kits, then SoAR club members will help those building their kits.
Those who receive a rocket will build until around 10 a.m. or 10:30 a.m., at which point the rockets will sit for about an hour to dry. In the meantime, SoAR club members will start flying their own rockets from about 10 a.m., according to Blanco.
“With any luck, one person, one kid, will get inspired,” Blanco said.
At around 11 a.m., the rockets that had been drying will now be ready to launch.
Once the clock hits 2 p.m., launch activities will end, and SoAR will move to the hamburger and hotdog picnic. Beer can also be purchased from the brewery.
Blanco said model rocketry, along with radio control aircraft and amateur radio are great hobbies for children to experience.
“Consequence is something hard to teach without hurting your kids,” Blanco said. “For the schools, you know, we talk about STEM, one of our themes is ‘why teach STEM,’ or ‘why study it,’ when you can do it.”
More information about SoAR can be found at http://www.soarrocketry.org.
