WELLINGTON — Area youths use the fairgrounds as a place to reach for the stars.

About 42 young people — from the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and Adventure Crew — participated in a rocket launch last week.

For some of the Boy Scouts, it’s work toward a merit badge in space exploration. For every­one else, the two-day event was a chance to get together with friends, camp out and see some cool rockets.

Mike Caithaml of Elyria has coordinated the event for the last 10 years. He first got involved in rockets as a teenager. His interest was renewed when his oldest son, Justin, got interested in rockets about 12 years ago.

Before everyone arrives at the fairgrounds, Caithaml sets up a grid in the field and uses red flags to create a bull’s-eye.

Participants have three tries to launch their rocket and make sure, after it reaches its apex and the parachute deploys, that it lands as close to the bulls-eye as possible. They do that by gauging the wind direction and speed.

Some of it is luck and timing when it comes to when contestants launch and the wind when it takes off, Caithaml said.

Joshua Thiery of Cub Scout Pack 412 won the event with 19 points and also got one of his rockets closest to the bull’s-eye.

Kids like rockets for several reasons, Caithaml said. First, it’s something they have to build, so there’s the fun of doing something hands-on.

Between hobby shops and the Internet, kids anywhere can find supplies easily.

The rockets, Caithaml said, have C-6 engines and go at least 500 to 700 feet in the air. If conditions are right, he said, the rockets can reach about 1,000 feet before returning to earth.

They also can indulge their creativity with colorful designs on the rocket. There’s the excitement of the rocket launching and going up to 1,000 feet in the air. And there’s the challenge of launching it in the right spot so the wind will carry it to the bull’s-eye.

There’s also the social aspect, with an overnight camp at the fairgrounds the night before the launch.

“The fair’s been really generous letting us use their grounds,” Caithaml said.

This year’s event featured, for the first time, members of the Sky Busters rocket club. Their rockets, Caithaml said, are bigger than the ones normally used at the launch.

“These rockets are about 5 inches in diameter and go up to 3,000 feet,” he said. “The kids were really excited to see them.” Caithaml said he hopes participating in the rocket launch will get the kids interested in science and the space program.

“They’re the ones who are going to take us to the next level in fuels and new inventions,” he said. “Someday, when I’m in my rocking chair, maybe I’ll see someone on the TV talking about their new scientific breakthrough and how they got their start at our rocket launch.”

Contact Melissa Hebert at 329-7129 or mhebert@chroniclet.com.

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