Pillars of exhaust rising high in the sky marked the successful launch of homemade rockets Friday by students at Waimea High School on Kauai.

Math teacher Jerry Nishihira and two students from his video rocketry class took their rockets to Syngenta Seeds and launched them to an altitude of 2,000 feet, the Garden Island reported.

“In class, we built this initiator rocket and we’re out here launching it,” said junior D.J. Pabre. “It was a really long process. I think we started building this in October or November. It’s a relief. I was hoping that the parachute would eject so that it would land safely and it thankfully it did.”

These rockets aren’t the ones you can buy in the store and launch in a driveway, however. They’re much more advanced and complex.

Furthermore, each rocket carried an HD Mobius Action Camera that recorded the launch from the rocket’s perspective.

“It’s a HD camera and it’s mounted externally. It’s called an onboard capture,” Nishihara said. “We set it up, launch it with the rocket and then take it off when it lands. Then they’ll (the students) edit and put together a video of the launch.”

A fan of project-based learning, Nishihara sees this project as an opportunity to move his teaching techniques outside the classroom.

“The kids are having so much fun but they don’t know that they’re learning about algebra, trigonometry, physics, technology and engineering,” he said. “You can tell by the smiles on their faces that they like this class. It’s the new thing to do; it’s project-based learning. It doesn’t have to be rocketry, it could be robotics, electric cars, farming, any type of project-based learning that can grab a kids attention.”

Junior Corey Agena was the other student whose rocket was launched into the early morning sky. To him, this class is a stepping stone for his continued education into the world of engineering.

“I want to go into engineering, so this type of stuff is good for me,” Agena said. “It was fun and I learned a lot.”