Bright, neon rockets were launched from the cross-country course this weekend, marking the end of a week-long enrichment course offered to high school students.

Samantha Clouten, Las Vegas resident and freshman in high school, said they weren’t allowed to build the rockets from kits or directions, instead they assembled them with “materials you wouldn’t normally build a rocket with.”

“For the parachutes we used clear plastic floor covering, like you use when painting, and we used paper towel spools for couplings,” Clouten said. “We had to convert a lot because we had to use the metric system.”

Maura Flaschner, program coordinator for the Office of Precollegiate Programs for Talented and Gifted, said these kinds of programs have been offered at Iowa State since 1985 and are usually attended by students identified as talented and gifted.

There are approximately 120 kids enrolled across the three weeks of classes and activities, with 10 in the physics of rocket launching class. Class sizes are typically kept small, Flaschner said.

Students stayed on campus in residence halls with supervision by resident assistants. Clouten said resident assistants had to have already gone through the program, so they could assist students with homework.

“We got to live in the dorms, which was nice because I got a feel for college,” she said. “We also got to walk all over campus, so we essentially gave ourselves a college tour, too.”

Clouten said participants built their own rockets, and each faced several technical decisions.

“You could either build a 3-foot tall rocket or 4-foot tall and there were different size engines you could pick from — C size, D size and DE size — I chose the DE size because it is the most powerful, so you’ll get more momentum,” she said.

Students also used a program called RockSim, which is a computer program used to simulate a launch experience.

“RockSim was like a blue print. You set weather conditions and your specs and you see how it flies,” Clouten said.

Participants launched their rockets Friday during a test launch to prepare for Saturday’s launch, that parents were invited to attend.

“I was so worried it would ignite on the stand before the launch, but the instructor reassured me everything would be fine,” Clouten said.