It really is rocket science

They all sported T-shirts — "Rocket Scientists Rock."

That was the message that the organizers of the Connect a Million Minds campaign sought to instill in six students from three area schools on Friday when they took a tour of Cherry Point.

"This tour has been an amazing way to see how science is relevant to a career," said Andi Curtis, public affairs manager at Time Warner Cable, which co-sponsored the tour with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Coastal Carolina and Marine Corps Community Services at Cherry Point.

"It’s all about getting kids excited about science and mathematics and trying to change their perceptions about science and technology and engineering," Curtis said.

During the tour, the students visited several sites at the Marine Corps air station, including the C-130J flight simulator, the CH-46 flight simulator, AV-8B Harrier squadron VMAT-203, Pedro helicopter squadron VMR-1, air traffic control and the station radar room.

Pilot Capt. Jeremy Monroe, of VMAT-203, told the students that if they wanted to fly Harriers they must have excellent skills in algebra, calculus and physics.

Monroe gave each student a look at the cockpit of a jet and each one got to try on a tight-fitting set of flight gear that pilots wear when they fly.

"It’s so cool. It’s awesome," Havelock’s Nicole Santos said after trying on the G-suit, which includes some 40 pounds of equipment.

"It’s real," said Jaycee Gibbs, of Havelock, "If you want to be a pilot, you already know what’s going on."

Both Santos and Gibbs are Havelock Middle School students, along with Brianna Farr, of Havelock.

Other participants included Kelly Lyon and Madison White of Morehead City Middle School and Shi’teria Hill, of East Carteret High School.

Driven by the motto "The geek shall inherit the Earth," the Connect a Million Minds campaign is an initiative by Time Warner Cable to inspire young people to develop important math, science, and engineering skills that will ensure their success in technical fields as adults.

Seeing such skills applied in interesting job applications at Cherry Point was a good way to show it, Curtis said.

"We’re trying to create the next generation of innovators," he said.