RESEDA : Students Launch Sci-Fi Fair and Space Shuttle

The highlight of Reseda High School’s science fiction fair was to be a rocket launch staged by students in the school’s Environmental and Physical Science Magnet program who built its engine.

But just as at NASA, the event ran into technical difficulties.

The engine--which students built using blueprints provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory--was stolen during the fair, just minutes before the scheduled take-off, according to school officials.

So as not to disappoint the youngsters, California National Guard Capt. Robert Gonzales, a teacher in training, went to a hobby store and bought a replacement.

As the students frantically reassembled the Regent shuttle, named after the school moniker, a restless crowd of fair-goers gathered in the quad area below the launch site, hissing and booing.

After only a few minutes of delay, the wire-guided shuttle shot across the quad trailed by clouds of smoke, and the boos turned to cheers.

Other events at the science fiction fair included booths where student organizations sold sci-fi snacks, such as “space cakes” and “voke” cola from Venus. Meanwhile, the drill team danced to such pop songs as “Weird Science.”

In the spirit of the occasion, the drama class put on a radio play-style reading of the Ray Bradbury play “The Veldt,” about a family of the future addicted to interactive television.