A Bellevue student, alongside her former teacher, is on a mission to spark interest in rocketry among students in the region. Following a remarkable victory by a team from Odle Middle School at an international rocketry competition in London last year, three of its members are now establishing new teams as they transition to high school.
Mikaela Ikeda, who captained the victorious Odle team, is gearing up to compete once more at a national rocketry championship with her newly formed team at Sammamish High School. At just 13, Ikeda is passionate about encouraging her peers throughout the Puget Sound area to create their own rocketry teams, with guidance from her former adviser, Brendan Williams.
Williams, a dedicated educator at Odle, is partnering with the Museum of Flight to create a regional rocketry hub. This initiative is designed to support students and teachers in establishing their own rocketry teams and classes, while also connecting them with the local aerospace industry and identifying suitable locations for rocket testing.
Inspired by a successful rocketry hub in Alabama that has helped launch over 20 teams, Williams has already conducted several workshops for teachers. "There are many students who need this opportunity, not just in Bellevue," he emphasized. "It doesn’t have to be overwhelming. It’s achievable."
For those students eager to start their own teams, Ikeda is ready to offer her advice. "Don’t let a ‘no’ discourage you," she encouraged. "I had to approach four different teachers at my high school before finding two who agreed to be my advisers."
The Thunderbirds, named after the Sammamish High mascot, are set to compete in Washington, D.C., on May 12 and 13 at this year’s Team America Rocketry Challenge. The competition challenges each team to launch a rocket that carries an egg to an altitude of 775 feet and safely returns it to Earth via parachute within a time frame of 41 to 43 seconds.
Ikeda’s successors at Odle will also be participating, along with teams from the private Bush School in Seattle, Skyline High in Sammamish, and Riverpoint Academy in Spokane. This year’s competition offers $100,000 in scholarships and prizes, along with the opportunity to represent the U.S. at the International Rocketry Challenge in Paris.
Reflecting on her experience, Ikeda noted, "Last year, building the rocket was easier because everyone on my team had a year or two of experience." This year, she has taken on a mentoring role, guiding her new team through the complexities of design, construction, and testing.
Looking to the future, Ikeda hopes her teammates will attract more students, allowing Sammamish to field multiple teams. "It’s a lot of work," she acknowledged. "But the satisfaction of launching something you’ve created from scratch, using software you’ve never encountered before — it’s truly incredible."