Auburn University Rocketry Association returns to Children’s of Alabama for fourth straight year

For the fourth consecutive year, Auburn University’s Rocketry Association (AURA) returned to Children’s of Alabama — not just for a one-day outreach event, but as an annual visit that patients, families and staff now expect.

What began as a hands-on STEM activity has developed into a recurring partnership, offering young patients a chance to step outside their rooms and into an environment focused on creativity.

“It gets them out of their rooms and gives them the chance to participate in something different,” said Delaney Haase, community development coordinator at Children’s of Alabama. “They get to be creative, build rockets and just have fun.”

Each year, Auburn Engineering students bring a range of interactive activities, from straw rockets to small-scale lunar landers, designed to introduce basic engineering concepts to young children. However, Haase said the value of the event goes beyond the activities themselves.

“It puts the children in a good place,” she said.

For the students leading the activities, that continuity is meaningful as well.

Suzie Feist, a senior in aerospace engineering and president of AURA, has taken part in the outreach every year since her freshman year. It started as a volunteer opportunity, and now it’s a cherished tradition for the organization.

“It’s something we look forward to every year,” Feist said. “It’s a really good chance to step away from the intensity of our projects and do something that makes a difference for someone else.”

The team spends much of the year designing and building high-powered rockets for competitions such as the Argonia Cup this past March and NASA’s University Student Launch Initiative, scheduled for April 22–26 in Huntsville. Visiting Children’s of Alabama offers a different perspective on that work.

“Getting to come here and interact with the patients, it just lightens the day a little bit,” Feist said. “It’s a lot of fun.”

That connection is personal for Feist, who said outreach events played a role in sparking her own interest in aerospace engineering.

“I wouldn’t be in aerospace if I hadn’t had opportunities like this,” she said. “It’s really cool to be able to pay that forward and see that excitement in the kids.”