STEM academy has been a very impressive program so far for 20 freshman students at HHS. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, and it is a two block program every day for students with a specific interest in those areas of learning. It keeps those students on the academic track to do well in those fields out of high school, whether it be in college or the work force.

Recently, STEM has placed their students into a national rocketry competition. For this competition, students must build a full rocket, launching system and parachuting system all out of from scratch. The rocket must go exactly 750 feet in the air and be in the air for 48 to 50 seconds, all while carrying a raw egg safely on its journey.

Freshman and team manager Noah Heie enjoys building the rockets.

“My favorite part is probably launching them, it’s really fun and exciting. And when the parachute doesn’t work it lands so fast and it’s so exciting, but that’s not good,” Heie said.

Freshman Tucker Wyatt is especially excited about this project.

“I think it’s a good opportunity to apply our previous knowledge of physics, engineering and math,” Wyatt said.

The STEM team will compete on May 11th in the state competition, and if they perform well, they will be able to go on to the national competition in D.C. at a later date.