Club Meetings

We meet from 7:00 PM to 8:45 PM (at the latest) on the first Friday of every month at the Helen Plum Library, located at 110 West Maple Street, Lombard, Illinois.

NIRA meeting dates and locations are occasionally subject to change due to other scheduled activities at the Library. Be sure to check for precise meeting information here or on the NIRA email list.

We try to keep the entertainment high and the business short. A typical meeting concludes with the Model of the Month contest. Members and guests bring their models for display, attendees look over the birds, people describe their models and techniques for building them, and then we take a vote for the monthly Youth (ages 12 and below), Junior (13-17), and Adult (18 and above) category winners. Winners get bragging rights and their photo on the website (see our Photo Gallery for photos of previous winners.)

Club business consists mainly of event planning with a sprinkling of news about upcoming events sponsored by other clubs in the Midwest, and only occasional discussion of national rocketry-related politics. We close the meeting by asking folks if they have any rumors, tips, hints, etc. to pass along, and then the group adjourns to a local restaurant for food and more rocket talk.

Our small set of Bylaws describe the way we conduct the club's business, which is never very demanding. You can get more information on our meetings by emailing or calling our club officers.


Map of Helen Plum Library

Get directions to the library

Note: NIRA is not sponsored by or endorsed by the Helen Plum Library.

NIRA News

NIRCON 2012

On Saturday, February 18 NIRA co-hosted NIRCON 2012 with the Fox Valley Rocketeers Club at the Challenger Learning Center for Science and Technology in Woodstock, IL. Thank you for the use of the beautiful facility. And many thanks to our generous donors!

2012 Club Launches

Tentative launch dates
  • April 15
  • May 20
  • June 17
  • July 15
  • August 19
  • November 18

2012 Club Meetings

  • January 6 (Fri)
  • February 3 (Fri)
  • March 2 (Fri)
  • April 6 (Fri)
  • May 4 (Fri)
  • June 1 (Fri)
  • July 6 (Fri)
  • August 3 (Fri)
  • September 7 (Fri)
  • October 5 (Fri)
  • November 2 (Fri)
  • December 7 (Fri)