The ASCE Central Ohio Section welcomed 367 students in grades K-8 at the STEM Expo on Saturday, February 28, 2015.  This free event was held in conjunction with DiscoverE’s Engineers Week.  The students explored hands-on activities and exhibits in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields sponsored by local engineering firms, professional societies, and educational departments.  The activities included a marble roller coaster, a turtle research station, edible car races, and many more.  Attendance at this year’s expo more than doubled compared to the 2014 event.

Carpenter Marty Transportation was once again proud to participate.  Our booth offered students and their parents the opportunity to build newspaper tables.  We called it the “Paper Table Challenge.”  Each student was given 8 sheets of newspaper and 3 feet of masking tape.  They could roll, fold, tear, and do anything they wanted to with the newspapers in order to design a table that was at least 6 inches tall and could hold the weight of a heavy book.  The ultimate challenge was to see if their table was strong enough to hold 3 heavy books, and many of the students were able to complete that challenge.  Click the link above for instructions and try the challenge at home!

“It was rewarding to see the kids’ excitement when their table held all the books, especially when they had to go through numerous iterations to try to develop a successful design.” – Neal Underwood, PE, SI

It was a great experience for our volunteers as well as the students and parents that attended.  Carpenter Marty Transportation is looking forward to participating in next year’s event.  We are already brainstorming ideas for a new and challenging activity for the students.