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Asa and Axel Clark say the camp is educational and hands-on, especially enjoying chasing and catching the rockets as they floated back to the ground.
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Kids Have a Literal Blast at Flying Cloud STEM Camp

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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The Future Innovators Camp is operated by Flying Cloud Institute, teaching children about flight and physics. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Kids had a literal blast at summer camp this week. 

On Friday, students of the Flying Cloud Institute's Future Innovators Camp launched their model rockets at Herberg Middle School after a week studying the physics of flight.

Campers raced across the field to catch the rockets as they parachuted to the ground after shooting into the air from a homemade launchpad. They spent the week at the Berkshire Innovation Center preparing for launch, taught by education coordinator Christian Drake and volunteer David Doyle. 

"Basically the kids come for a whole week of learning rocketry, different forms of physics concepts," Flying Cloud's Development Manager Stephanie DuPont said. 

"This year it was the physics of flight. Last year they did astrophysics, so each year there's a different topic." 

Asa and Axel Clark attended the camp together and found the camp to be educational and hands-on, especially enjoying chasing and catching the rockets as they float back to the ground. 

"I think this was a good start," said Axel, an aspiring engineer. "I learned a lot of new stuff, and it was really fun." 



Parents popped chairs on the lawn as the campers showed what they learned. 

Doyle, a longtime supporter, developed a partnership with Flying Cloud during the pandemic.  He has been doing rocketry since middle school, and feels there is a lack of hands-on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education in schools. 

They have covered everything from launching a hot air balloon to building gliders, and then the rockets that carry the gliders. Further, they learned about air resistance forces and how they impact the speed and stability of the rocket. 

"I feel rocketry is one of the best ways to get kids introduced to physics and aerodynamics, and it's not super high cost, and safe," Doyle said. 

 "And I just think it has enormous potential for STEM education." 

It's a really good start, he added, because when you get into advanced rocketry, there are pretty sophisticated challenges, but at this level, you're still talking about physics and forces and getting it down.


Tags: STEM,   

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PHS Air and Water Quality Within Accepted Levels

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— Air and water quality testing at Pittsfield High School came back within acceptable levels, and the administration is open to additional testing. 

Last week, the School Committee accepted test results on the facility that has sat on East Street for nearly 100 years.  The report was done in collaboration with Atlas Technical Consultants and the Pittsfield Water Department. 

Readings were "acceptable" in all tested locations, and there are recommendations for monitoring humidity, replacing equipment, and additional air monitoring when needed.  Some retesting needed to be done, and a couple of sink faucets were removed in the process. 

"If you want every room sampled, we can do it," Mayor Peter Marchetti said in response to Ciara Batory's concerns about air sampling in only a handful of rooms. 

"This is the report that came back, and this report does not show that children are in danger."

Limited indoor air quality readings were done in rooms 102, 103, 104, and 116 on June 31.  Air quality testing was also done two years ago. 

Humidity levels were slightly above American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers guidelines in rooms 103 and 104; monitoring and dehumidification are recommended. 

The report says that mold spores captured in rooms 103 and 104 likely originated from an indoor source.  Custodial deep cleaning was done right before samples were taken, and a retest showed levels within an acceptable range. 

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