Toledo school is second in nation

5/21/2006

PLAINS, Va. - Toledo's Notre Dame Academy came in second place yesterday in a national model rocket contest held here yesterday, said a spokesman for the Aerospace Industries Association, which coordinates the contest.

In the Team America Rocketry Challenge, the 678 registered teams designed and built a model rocket that carries one chicken egg.

The team's rocket must fly 800 feet, stay in the air for 45 seconds, and return the egg uncracked, spokesman Alexis Ellen said.

Teams submitted qualifying scores by April 10, and the top 100 teams were invited to the National Finals Fly-off held yesterday, Ms. Ellen said.

Statesville Christian School from Statesville, N.C., captured first place with a score of 1.79. Notre Dame Academy, which was one of four Ohio schools to compete in the finals, followed closely with a score of 1.93.

The 1 in the score corresponds to the rocket flying exactly 800 feet, and the number after the decimal refers to the rocket's shortfall from staying in the air exactly 45 seconds, Ms. Ellen said.

The contest encourages math and science as the students, in grades 7 through 12, learn teamwork, physics, engineering, aerodynamics, and electrical circuitry.

It was the fourth year of the competition.