Engineering students at the University of Colorado at Boulder are ramping up for a week of intense activity April 20 to 24, when they will celebrate Engineering Days and complete hands-on design projects for demonstration to the community at the Engineering Design Expo.
Engineering Days is an annual celebration of the engineering profession organized by the engineering student government and various honor societies. Activities include an egg drop, rocket launch and other fun activities for students.
The college egg drop will begin Thursday, April 22, at 1 p.m. at the base of the Engineering Office Tower. Students are challenged to build contraptions that will protect a raw egg when dropped from an eighth floor window. Prizes will be awarded for departmental winners as well as the best use of engineering principles, most destroyed, largest volume, crowd pleaser and judges' choice.
Students will launch balsa wood rockets Friday, April 23, from noon to 4 p.m. on the Business Field, south of the Engineering Center. A complete schedule of activities will be posted in the Engineering Lobby throughout the week.
The Engineering Design Expo will showcase the work of about 300 engineering students, ranging from first-year students to seniors, on Saturday, April 24, from noon to 3 p.m. at the Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory.
Student design projects will be set up both inside and outside the ITL Laboratory, and will include various inventions for walking on water, an airboat that runs on biodiesel, a helium blimp that uses solar-generated electricity and a highly maneuverable stair-climbing rover.
Volunteers from industry, government and the community serve as judges for the event, rating each project on its originality, craftsmanship, grasp of engineering principles, effectiveness and presentation. An awards ceremony will be held at the close of the event, and prizes will be given to the best project in each category. Attendees can vote for their favorite project to win the "People's Choice" award.
The ITL Laboratory is located on Regent Drive south of Colorado Avenue. For more information call 303-492-7222 or visit itll.colorado.edu.
