MAGE Club Relaunches, Ready to Reach New Heights
At the club’s first meeting this year, Luis Olvera shows a video of a previous rocket experiment and explains how it was able to fly. Photo: Jonathan Li
By JONATHAN LI
With over 80 clubs at Midwood, some inevitably fade from the spotlight. But on October 16 at the annual club fair, the Midwood Aerospace Group for Engineers (MAGE) Club found new fuel and looks ready to reach new heights once again.
The club was founded in 2020-2021, and while it fell mostly into inactivity last year, some members never gave up on it. This year, during their first meeting, 13 people attended, with Mr. Jamal Stovall stepping in as the new advisor.
Luis Olvera ‘26, the president of MAGE, explained that the club applies physics and math to build hands-on projects like rockets. After designing their models, members calculate flight patterns and trajectories and construct the rockets using bottles and precisely cut cardboard to achieve optimal aerodynamics. The club then launches the rockets at Midwood Field by pressurizing air inside water-filled bottles that act as the rocket’s frame. The club would love to launch combustion rockets with jet fuel, but are stopped by restrictions placed by the city and the school.
Olvera joined MAGE during his sophomore year. When he and Mr. Philip Rebrović, the club’s former adviser, talked about motion and free body diagrams, Olvera seized the opportunity to transform physics formulas on paper into a rocket that would “rip through the skies.”
“My favorite memory was designing and calculating how we wanted our rockets to launch,” said Olvera. “We went to Midwood Field and launched the rockets we built using trigonometry to calculate the velocity and height.”
Gavin Luo ‘27, MAGE’s vice president, joined during his freshman year after the club’s board captivated him at the fair. With a strong interest in engineering and aviation, he was attracted by the field tests but stayed for the community.
“What mattered the most wasn’t how high the rocket went,” said Luo, “it was the friends we made along the way and the lessons we learned.”
Luo said the club helped him build strong friendships and form lasting memories. As the vice president, he hopes to gain more members while improving his designs.
Many of the club’s new members, such as juniors Martino Pierre and Evan Ko, are passionate about physics and are considering careers in engineering.
The club has been in communication with Towrat Uddin ‘27, the Physics Club’s president, and plans to go into more depth about the physics behind launching rockets. The two clubs also plan to create a launch date in the spring where they can test rockets together. Luo also wants to collaborate with the Architecture Club, which debuted this year.
“I hope to expand our reach to all grades,” said Olvera. “And I hope to start a new culture of rocketry at MAGE, including competitions.”
Students interested in joining the club or learning more can attend their meetings on Tuesdays (Week B), Period 9, in Room 331.