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Students from Wisconsin, Illinois Compete in NFPA Fluid Power Challenge
Jennifer Roy, Contributing Editor -- Design News, January 9, 2009
More than 70 eighth-graders from Wisconsin and northern Illinois were given the task of designing and building fluid power pick-and-place mechanisms during the National Fluid Power Assn.'s Fluid Power Challenge held at the Milwaukee School of Engineering in December.
The students built mechanisms for picking up an object from one platform, rotating it and placing it on a second platform, with Team A from Starbuck Middle School in Racine, Wisconsin emerging as overall champion.
The teams were evaluated on the number of pick-and-place cycles their machine completed, as well as on their design, portfolio and the way they worked together.
Students, who were asked to fill out "feedback forms," wrote that they thought the challenge was "exciting," "very fun," "educational" and "opened doors" for students to learn more, according to a NFPA press release.
Other participating Wisconsin schools include Fritsche Middle School, Hartford University School, Hmong American Peace Academy and Vieau Middle School, all in Milwaukee; Luxemburg-Casco Middle School in Luxemburg; and New Berlin Eisenhower Middle School in New Berlin. Participating schools from Illinois were Heineman Middle School in Algonquin and Marlowe Middle School in Lake in the Hills.
Two teams from Fritsche Middle School each moved 11 canisters in the two-minute challenge. Team B from Starbuck Middle School won the Portfolio Challenge, Hmong American Peace Academy was named Design Champion and Heineman Middle School was award Teamwork Champion.
The NFPA Fluid Power Challenge is intended to provide middle school students with information about fluid power technology and hands-on experience building a fluid power mechanism with real-world applicability, as well as opening their eyes and those of their teachers to the world of engineering and fluid power careers, according to the NFPA press release.
For more information on the NFPA Fluid Power Challenge, go to www.nfpa.com.
