This spring, both the Shady Side Academy Middle School and Senior School Rocketry Teams qualified to compete in the national finals of The American Rocketry Challenge. Both SSA teams placed among the top 100 teams from across the country and will compete for $100,000 in cash and prizes and the title of National Champion.

The National Finals will take place on Saturday, May 14, in The Plains, Va., not far from Washington, D.C. The winner will represent the United States at the International Rocketry Competition taking place in England in July, and the top 25 teams will be invited to next year's NASA Student Launch workshop.

The American Rocketry Challenge is the aerospace and defense industry's flagship program designed to encourage students to pursue study and careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The competition challenges middle and high school students to design, build, and fly a rocket that meets specific altitude and flight duration parameters.

This year's rules required teams to build a model rocket that carries two raw eggs to an altitude of 835 feet, stays airborne for 41-44 seconds, and returns the rocket to the ground safely with the eggs intact.

Sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association, the National Association of Rocketry and more than a dozen industry partners, the American Rocketry Challenge is the world's largest rocket contest. Now in its 20th year, the American Rocketry Challenge has inspired more than 85,000 middle and high school students to explore education and careers in STEM fields. This year, more than 720 teams representing 41 states designed and built model rockets in hopes of qualifying for the National Finals.For more information, visit rocketcontest.org.

Good luck to both rocketry teams and Middle School rocketry coach Matt Brunner and Senior School rocketry coach Natalie Bobek!