WALLA WALLA, Wash. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) Walla Walla District will sponsor Engineering Week competitions at seven different schools in the valley and Tri-Cities as part of National Engineers Week (E-Week) February 16-22.
The engineering competitions are part of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) conferences. Corps engineers and support staff will serve as advisors, judges, and speakers at the STEM competitions.
This year, students from Walla Walla High School, DeSales High School, College Place High School, SEATech at WWCC, Rogers Middle School, Riverview in Tri-Cities and at the Explorers Program at Sharpstein Elementary will work individually or in groups of two to create a device that protects an egg as it travels through a predetermined course, including sloped pipes and drops.
Students received training and mentorship before the competition to learn about the mission of the Corps in the Walla Walla District, the importance of STEM, and the rules and scoring system of the competition.
The Walla Walla District will provide eggs the day of the competition, and students are encouraged to use whatever materials they can find in order to keep their egg from breaking as it travels through the course. Points are awarded based on various aspects of the students’ creations.
The competition is set up like golf, meaning the lowest score wins. Students receive points based on the weight of their egg delivery systems, the speed at which it travels through the course and the number of different materials they used in its construction. Points are deducted (a good thing in this case) if students use reused or recycled materials in their creations, and ten points are deducted if their creations can be quickly reused with different eggs.
The competition encourages students to problem-solve, use ingenuity, be creative, and balance many different factors to create an egg protection system that is both effective and efficient.
The design competitions will be held at: DeSales Catholic High School on Feb. 18 starting at 8:00 a.m., SEATech on Feb. 18 starting at 9:00 a.m., Rogers Middle School on Feb. 19 at 10:30 a.m., Walla Walla High School on Feb. 19, starting at 8:50 a.m., College Place High School on Feb. 20, starting at 8:05 a.m., Riverview (Tri-Cities) on Feb. 20, and the Explorers Program (4th/5th) on Feb. 24, 27, and 28 at 9:40 a.m.
The Corps of Engineers’ mission is dedicated to serving the Nation. E-Week is one of many opportunities that the Corps takes to give back to the community and its’ future. We respond to the President’s call to action for federal scientists and engineers to volunteer in local communities and think of creative ways to engage students in STEM subjects; maintaining America’s historical preeminence in the STEM fields is important to our future. For more information about National Engineers Week, go online to www.discovere.org. To learn more about the Corps of Engineers and its mission in the Walla Walla District, go to www.nww.usace.army.mil.