Camp Mackle Returns to the Launch Pad

Sixty-plus kids attending Camp Mackle built and launched rockets in a program led by the Civil Air Patrol-Marco Island Senior Squadron, during their summer camp day on August 3, 2023. 

Children attending Camp Mackle, grades one through five, participated in an aerospace education session this summer and learned about rocketry, propulsion, and aerodynamics. Major Jesse Lee Baker, aerospace education officer for the Marco Island Senior Squadron, led the session.

Baker reached out to Dawn Snyder, director for Camp Mackle, to plan the half-day program coordinated with camp counselors and held at the City of Marco Island's Frank E. Mackle Community Park on Thursday, August 3, 2023.

The kids built their rockets out of card-stock cylinders adding paper nose cones and fins. "The compression mechanism was built out of PVC piping and utilized bicycle pumps to create a burst of air that propelled the rockets, on average, 20 feet," says Baker. Captain Mark Senda and Lt. Col Marian Motyl-Szary supported the educational session by providing information and assistance to optimize the children's learning experience. This is the third year that the Marco Island squadron has provided aerospace education to Camp Mackle students, reaching just under 200 kids.

What the kids learned:  

• The history of the civil air patrol.
• The role of the civil air patrol in our community.
• A primer on rockets & propulsion.
• Hands-on rocket build and use of compressed air for rocket launches.

“This program encompasses two of the Civil Air Patrol’s primary functions: Youth Development and Aerospace Education,” shared Lt. Col. Robert Nager, commander of the Marco Island Squadron. “We thank the leadership at Camp Mackle for the opportunity to collaborate. We value developing meaningful community relationships and welcome any leads on broadening this aspect of our programming,” said Nager.