Campers in Newtown Continuing Education's Design It, Build It, Launch It program spent time outside on Friday, July 8, testing air pressure rockets, and on the following Friday, campers tested different designs for an egg drop event.Further information about Newtown Continuing Education programs is available by calling 203-426-1787 or on its website, newtowncontinuinged.org.

The camp is for students exiting fourth to seventh grade, with two sessions this summer.

July 8 marked the "launch it" part of the project for rockets campers had designed and built.

"I just like to build things and see them launch," said rising fifth grader Parker Chung.

Camp instructor Rick Lowry said the campers were noting elevation, the number of pumps used to build air pressure, and recorded distance for each rocket launched. A target was set up in the field outside Reed Intermediate School, and, as an added competition, campers noted which rocket landed the closest to the target.

The camp, rising sixth grade student Jessica Rossomando said, "Is really good. You get to learn how to build stuff that you can't build at your house."

Newtown Continuing Education intern and The College of New Jersey student Rachel DiVanno also helped students with the air pressure rockets on July 8. This is Rachel's third summer helping with the Design It, Build It, Launch It camp.

This year, "The kids are being very creative with their designs," said Rachel.

Other projects during this session of the camp include studying hydraulics, building rubber band-powered gliders from scratch, and designing and constructing for the "Egg Drop," which tasked the campers to create a case that could hold and stop an egg from cracking when dropped from an extended ladder truck.

Newtown Hook & Ladder Co No. 1 Chief Ray Corbo, lieutenant Dan Tomascak, and firefighter Tom Cassin visited RIS for the event on July 15. Mr Cassin climbed the extended ladder to drop the eggs for the test.

As they waited for the ladder to be extended, campers guessed their eggs would break, "explode," or "be fine."

Campers used a range of items to create the different egg container designs-streamers, rubber bands, Styrofoam, cups, egg cartons, wood, cardboard, tape, and hot glue.

Parker was the first to have his egg drop container dropped from the ladder to the parking lot.

The group counted down, the cardboard container fell to the ground - and Parker and Mr Lowry investigated whether the egg was intact, cracked, or splattered within the device.

"It worked!" Parker said, standing up and holding his egg up.

This was the first class to have a 100 percent success rate after all the containers were dropped, according to Mr Lowry.