Students in the College of Engineering and Applied Science will apply their design skills and engineering know-how for the sheer fun of it this week during Engineering Days 2002 at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
The annual Egg Drop, along with a Vertical Takeoff and Landing Challenge and a Model Rocket Launch, are some of the highlights of this year's event. Engineering Days, or E-Days, is a weeklong, tongue-in-cheek celebration of the engineering profession organized by students each spring. Students throughout the Boulder campus are invited to participate.
The Egg Drop, scheduled to begin Thursday at 2 p.m., is traditionally one of the biggest draws at E-Days. Held in the courtyard at the base of the Engineering Center Office Tower, the contest challenges students to design devices that will protect a raw egg from an eight-story drop. Prizes are awarded for the best engineering design, best crowd-pleaser and most dramatic entry.
Students will have the chance all week to build vertical takeoff vehicles from balsa wood, rubber bands and model propellers at a table in the Engineering Center Lobby sponsored by Lockheed Martin and the Sigma Gamma Tau engineering society.
The Vertical Takeoff and Landing Challenge will follow the Egg Drop contest at about 3:30 p.m. on the Herbst Plaza, located between the Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory and the Discovery Learning Center on Regent Drive. Lockheed Martin will award prizes for best designs.
In the Model Rocket Launch, students in the Tau Beta Pi and Sigma Gamma Tau engineering societies will launch rockets from the CU-Boulder business field Friday beginning at 2 p.m. Tau Beta Pi specializes in water rockets, while Sigma Gamma Tau specializes in solid fuel rockets.
The University of Colorado Engineering Council will award prizes for the best vehicles. Corporate sponsors are invited to participate along with the student groups.
Other scheduled events during Engineering Days include a Local Area Network video game party, an acapella concert and a carnival with food, games and demonstrations of engineering student projects. For more information, call the University of Colorado Engineering Council at (303) 492-7475.