Incoming high school freshman had the opportunity to build and launch their own rockets over the past two days.
Tuesday and Wednesday's activity was part of "Rocketing Into High School," an event for science teachers and students to explore science, and to participate in the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Engineering Design Challenge.
The Santa Maria Joint Union High School District says the experience involved students building rockets for a competition.
There were more than 40 students involved. These students will be starting as freshman at Ernest Righetti High School, Pioneer Valley High School and Santa Maria High School.
The school district says the event creates a friendly competition, while allowing students to see their future campuses.
"[It gives] a feeling of excitement about science, a feeling about not being nervous about high school and high school teachers. The whole big campus could be intimidating. We want them to feel like they know someone on campus [and] they know other kids on campus and high school is going to be a positive experience for them," said Riccardo Magni, a Pioneer Valley High School science teacher.
