A team of 5th graders from Encinal School won second place for overall solution in their age group at the Tech Museum of Innovation 2009 Tech Challenge on April 25.
The 2009 Tech Challenge was to design and build a device that could safely deliver a small payload to the top of a mock volcano.
The team of Encinal students created a clever solution using materials such as a red wagon, a drill motor, several feet of PVC pipe, bubble wrap, wire, duct tape and a bungee cord.
The seven members worked together in their parents’ garages for eight weeks prior to the competition.
“We tried a lot of ideas which didn’t work, so it was really fascinating to zero in on a solution which finally worked on a consistent basis,” says team member Kevin Conrad.
“We learned a lot about working together as a team,” says Kyle Kranen. “Sometimes it can be hard getting seven people to all work together.”
On the day of the competition, the boys presented their process and shared their design journal with a team of judges.
They had five minutes to show their machine in action. Two minutes were allowed to set up the machine, followed by three minutes to “deliver the payload.”
Eight weeks of effort culminated in five crucial minutes, during which their device put in a near-perfect performance.
This year’s challenge drew a record number of participants. There were 250 teams and more than 1,000 students competing. There were 76 teams participating in the fifth- and sixth-grade age group.
“This was a really fun challenge that let you learn a lot about engineering and science,” says Daniel Chaiken.
The team consisted of Daniel Chaiken, Kevin Conrad, Thomas Fuller, Jackson Goudey, Kyle Kranen, Matthew Kenney and Erik Muir.
About the author: Shari Conrad is the mom of team member Kevin Conrad and a volunteer at Encinal School.
