Water Rocket Competition and Workshop, Indonesia
-Introducing Basic Knowledge of Rockets for Students-

The National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (LAPAN) in cooperation with the Science and Technology Display Center (PP Iptek) has held meetings to do with the water rocket manufacturing process for junior high school students all over Indonesia. This activity aims to teach students about the basic knowledge of water rockets. Besides that, this activity has become a selection process for students who possess potential talent and are interested in water rocket manufacturing to compete in the water rocket national competition, which will be held in November.
On Thursday (28/8), a meeting was held at Tenggarong, Kutai Kertanegara, East Kalimantan, attended by 42 junior high school students from around the area. The Regional Water Rocket Competition in Kutai Kertanegara started with a preliminary seminar and some water rocket manufacturing training the day before. The Kutai Kertanegara Water Rocket Competition 2008 took place in the parking lot of the Tenggarong Planetarium Building.
This competition was part of the third regional round, as the other two rounds were simultaneously held in Palembang, West Sumatera and Balikpapan. The next regional selection has been planned for October 2008, in Bantul, Yogyakarta.
The best team from each regional competition will compete in the national water rocket competition, which will be held in Yogyakarta, Center Java. The winner will be submitted as the Indonesian representative in the International Water Rocket Competition in Hanoi, Vietnam.
These competitions aim to stimulate awareness of and interest in science and technology, especially in space technology. It is hoped that the students will grow up to be a reliable and competent generation. In the future, this ability will be a valuable asset for Indonesia to become a developed country (Humas/And)