Robert L. Cannon Award—Eligibility, Instructions, and Application
The NAR is proud to be able to carry on the work of Bob Cannon, who spent many years at Estes Industries contacting thousands of educators across the nation and introducing them to the exciting world of model rocketry. Teachers are an extension of that work—sparking the imagination of youth who will become our next generation of scientists, engineers, astronauts, and informed citizens. We encourage you to partner with your local NAR section for additional support. The NAR awards grants to educators who have an established model rocketry program in their classroom. Below are some tips that can help your school compete successfully to receive a $500 grant for using rocketry as an educational tool.
Eligibility
- The application deadline for participating in the Cannon award program is June 1. All applications must be emailed or postmarked by this date.
- Applicant must be a teacher or educator working at an eligible educational institution.
- Eligible educational institutions are public and private elementary, middle, and high schools (grades K-12). Other educational groups may be considered, but first priority will be given to schools.
- Activities supported by the Cannon Award must be associated with the regular classroom curriculum. After-school programs are not eligible.
- Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) and Student Launch Initiative (SLI) teams are not eligible.
- Activity must include model rockets. Water rockets, paper/straw rockets or similar are not eligible.
- Activities in their first year are eligible; however priority will be given to ongoing programs.
- You must be willing to have your brief activity description posted on the NAR Educator web page.
- You must be willing to submit a link to educational resources on your web site that can be used on the NAR web site, and/or an article for the NAR Educators Newsletter, and possibly for the NAR magazine Sport Rocketry. The article can be about a past activity. Our newsletter and magazine editors are available for assistance as necessary. (If you are a multiple award recipient, this requirement is waived.)
How to Apply for the Robert L. Cannon Award
Each application is reviewed by a committee of NAR members—these members consist of present and former trustees, the chairperson of the education committee, and two or more members-at-large.
When you are submitting your application, consider the following judging criteria. Each member judges the application based on a “scoring guide” that consists of the following criteria:
- General Evaluation;
- Type of Activity and Need;
- Involvement and Enthusiasm;
- Academic Measure;
- Safety;
- Publicity and NAR Affiliation; and
- Subjective Evaluation.
Let’s briefly look at these points:
General Evaluation—Is the application complete and legible, signed, and dated?
Type of Activity and Need—The activity must be part of the class’s curriculum. Are the lesson materials based on materials already available or did you develop your own? Is this the first year of your activity or have you carried out this activity before. How many students will take part in the activity, what grade level and how many teachers/proctors are involved in each stage of the activity? Is there a financial need of any kind? For example, are your trying to expand the activity, are you using your own money or donations?
Involvement and Enthusiasm—Are you enthusiastic about the activity? Is the activity a winner in your classroom? Are other members of the faculty involved, or parents, some youth organization, the local hobby shop? Is there any public relations activity done either within the school or in the community?
Academic Measure—Are sound scientific principles being taught and is the activity age appropriate? What state or school district bench marks does your activity address. Is your activity an elective or part of a course of study? Is the activity only a day, a week, a semester? Please submit an outline, synopsis, and illustrations/pictures of your activity. We want to know what you are teaching and how rocketry is helping you teach. If you are using an already published activity, please reference the activity. Do not submit a copy of it.
Safety—What safety measures are being implemented, especially for the launch portion of the program? Are you familiar with the NAR Safety Code?
Publicity and NAR Affiliation—We are looking to see if you are attempting to create interest in model rocketry by involving the school, your community or by getting published in the local newspaper or being on the evening news. The application states that you do not have to be a NAR member to apply for the award. We encourage the use of our educational services, our members, and our sections (clubs). If you need help or assistance, NAR members are great at volunteering to help you with building or launch instructions. It has been our experience that although the “science” is not too difficult to master, many educators have little or no experience in the building and launching of the models.
Subjective Evaluation—This area is not defined, as each committee member responsible for “scoring” the application looks at what you have written and applies their own analysis to the material. We do not compare scores or notes among our members, so there is no “bias” to the scoring.
If you have any questions or require more help, feel free to contact Dr. Claude V. Maina at claudevmaina@gmail.com
Be sure to follow the instructions to get the most benefit from your application. Your “obligation” upon receiving an award is to provide a short article about your activity (with photos, if possible) to be used on the NAR web site or NAR Educator Newsletter.
Either download and fill out these forms or use the online form below to submit your application online.
National Association of Rocketry – Cannon Award Eligibility
National Association of Rocketry – Cannon Award Application (pdf)
Here is a Example application for both Robert L Cannon Award and Extracurricular Activity Grant.