First space derby blasts off in Royal

ROYAL CITY - Jose Medina-Lomeli and Marco Soto teamed up to win the first Royal High School Space Derby recently.

Space Derby was held during STAT (student teacher access time) to fully take advantage of the enrichment period. It was the culmination of a hands-on effort to introduce students to math and science aeronautic fundamentals.

The project was organized by teacher Andrew Perkins, and it was quite an undertaking. Assisting in the construction of the Space Derby track were shop teacher Rick Kannely and student teacher Katrina Werlinger.

"Stay tuned for Space Derby II," Perkins said. "The first race went well despite the time and logistics hurdles we had to overcome. I was impressed with Mr. Kannely's carpentry skills, Miss Werlinger's organizational skills and the cooperation and hard work of the students."

The "Artistic" winner was the team of Cassandra Salas and Vanely Ruiz. Other teams that competed were: Franki Gomez/Elizabeth Cedillo, Daniel Rosas/Fernando Moreno, and Isidro DeLaRosa/Cesar Bernal.

STAT is the school's daily 30-minute enrichment and content intervention period. Perkins offered a space camp at which students could learn basic aeronautics and then construct their own rubber band propelled rockets.

The rockets raced along a suspended track made of fishing line. If you google space derby, there are videos you can view, Perkins said.