(COLORADO SPRINGS) — On Wednesday, Oct. 2 students at Centennial Elementary School, part of Harrison School District 2, built rockets as part of the Inaugural Rocket Day event.

Students received free Estes Rocket kits and volunteers from the Rocky Mountain National Defense Industrial Association, The Colorado Springs Rocket Society, and the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) Development Foundation, all helped the kids put them together.

UCCS said the event is part of an ambitious initiative to have every fifth grader in El Paso County build and launch an Estes rocket by 2026. The goal is that through having the experience of building their own rockets, students will be encouraged to use their STEAM skills and gain more of an interest in a future career in a related field.

“It makes me feel inspired that all of these people spent their life learning how to make rockets and seeing if they work or if they don’t work,” said Casey Guidry, a fifth grader at Centennial Elementary.

Students will launch their rockets on Friday, Oct. 4 at Mountain Vista Community School.