July 9, 2002
Students in the Pre-freshman Engineering Program (PREP) at St. Mary’s
University will explore the world of engineering and building this week as
they experiment with, design and build items out of common materials. They
will certainly learn a few things, and may even get egg on their faces – or
at least their feet.
Students will build a kite, a paper airplane, a Popsicle stick building,
“egg shoes” and an egg-protection device. Each project will be tested by the
students and judged for its reliability. The Popsicle stick building will be
judged on its height and weight-carrying capacity. The egg shoes will be
judged on how long they protect six eggs from being walked on by a student.
The egg-protection device will be judged on how well it protects an egg
being dropped from various heights.
Testing of the building projects begins at 10:30 a.m., Friday, July 12 in
the open area between Chaminade Hall and the University Center on the St.
Mary’s campus.
This is the fourth year for St. Mary’s to host one of the eight-week summer
programs. Students take classes in technical writing, statistics and
probability, and problem solving. Speakers and demonstrations make up a main
focus area of the program.
Note to Media: Contact Jack Calentine, St. Mary’s PREP site director, at
431-6783 for more information.