Students launch boats made of cardboard to victory
Crisp, cold air persisted as almost two hundred engineering students gathered Saturday to participate in the cardboard boat race at the Rose Ponds near Kelly Shorts Stadium.
Students in the EGR 120 class were required to participate in the race.
The students are given 100 "boat bucks" to spend on simple supplies like cardboard, liquid nails, and duct tape. Even though students spend a week working on their vessels, many boats sacrificed to the chilly waters.
“I had a really fun time we really didn’t expect to make it all the way but sure enough we made it," said freshman Damion Kilts.
Holly freshman Logan Greer was surprised his team was successful. He said he was expecting to sink.
"It was a lot of fun," Greer said. "I was expecting to sink."
Teamwork was cited as a positive of the experience, Kilts said.
"I learned a lot of what it takes to build a project with a team, and make a goal and succeed," he said.
Brian DeJong, mechanical engineering professor and one of several teaching the ENG 120 course, said i’s a good bonding experience for students and abetter opportunity to apply their skills. Students get extra credit for spending under-budget and full credit for making it across the ponds.
"I think it's important because it's a chance for them to apply engineering you can still make floats," he said.
Successful teams cited duct tape as the material that held their boats together.
"All of the duct tape. There was so much duct tape," Greer said.
Slocum attributed her team’s success to modeling their boat after a canoe.
"The design of our boat was we made it canoe-like and we used a lot of duct tape on the bottom," she said.
Dejong said she finds it rewarding that students' positive memories make all the work worthwhile.
"I think today is a lot of fun," Dejong said. "I really like that students back the event fondly."
