Associated Builders and Contractors - ABC - Empire State Chapter - New York - Community Actions

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Engineer It

Engineer It - Think it, build it, test it.

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It is our pleasure to announce that at the most recent CNY Council meeting your Council approved support for bringing the newest traveling exhibit to the MOST, the local science and technology museum located in downtown Syracuse. This exhibit, Engineer It!, is an interactive, educational exhibit, which encompasses over 5,000 square feet of pure engineering and architectural fun. Visitors will discover the creative side of engineering and architecture by designing boats, windmills, buildings, and bridges, and testing their performance in wind tunnels, earthquake simulators and water tables.

Over 90,000 children under 12 visit the MOST each year to explore, learn and create as they zigzag through almost 200 hands-on exhibits. These experiences are helping our young people develop an interest in science, technology, architecture, engineering, and construction.

The generous contributions of the following ABC members have helped make this happen:

Structural Associates
Cortland Glass
M.A. Bongiovanni
Diamond & Thiel Construction
Edgeline Electric
Remlap Construction
Tersal Construction
Reller Risk Management
Demco NY Corp.

Engineer It! Components

At ENGINEER IT!, visitors engage in open-ended, multiple-outcome activities. There are three major testing areas that provide opportunities for visitors to delve into the design and engineering process: Water, Structures and Wind. The components of the three testing areas are as follows:

Water Area:

Paddle Boats - Visitors design rubber band-powered paddle boats from a variety of paddles and test the boats' ability to traverse a water tank. Variables such as the number of rubber bands, the shape of the blades, and the amount of paddle surface extending into the water affect the outcome.
Sailboats - In this component, visitors build sailboats by choosing from a variety of sails and keels and test the boats with a wind source (fan) adjacent to the water tank. The position and shape of the sails and of the keels affect the sailboats' performance.
Speedboats - Visitors create speedboats by choosing from a variety of bow and stern designs and test the boats for speed in a long, low water tank. As they change bow and stern shapes, they learn how shape affects speed.

Structures Area:

Walk-On Earthquake Platform - Visitors construct a building from giant foam blocks on a large earthquake platform and test how well it survives a simulated earthquake and delayed aftershock. Like ground movements in an earthquake, this platform moves back and forth and is electronically programmed to pause and resume, realistically imitating the motion of a quake and aftershock.
Shake Tables - Kids and adults construct unique buildings using plastic column and floor components, log blocks, and building blocks, then test the buildings on three shaking tables that simulate earthquakes.
Build A Bridge Computer Kiosk - Using an interactive computer program, visitors engineer bridges by choosing the number and size of girders. They then test the bridges for stability by "driving" a truck, bus, or locomotive over them. The program has four levels of difficulty with options for tutorials and hints along the way.
Paper Bridge - Visitors fold, roll or cut pieces of paper to create a bridge that will connect two wooden supports, then test the strength of the paper bridge using a specified weight.
Arch Bridge - By arranging pre-cut blocks to form an arch bridge, visitors discover how these bridges were built by the Romans more than 2,000 years ago.
Cantilever Arch Bridge - Visitors learn how the center of gravity determines the amount of possible overhang by stacking blocks horizontally from a base block, attempting not to tip them over.
Catenary Arch - At the catenary arch, teamwork is the name of the game. By assembling a seven-foot catenary arch, visitors learn how the curve of an arch is such that blocks do not experience any shear or sideways forces, only forces that are along or parallel to the line of the curve of blocks.
Cargo Crane - Visitors turn the wheels of an 11-foot tall jib crane and observe how gears and pulleys work as they maneuver block cargo onto a conveyer belt.
Gears - Using intermediate gears, visitors discover how turning a gear on one side of a table drives another gear on the other side of the table.
Belts & Pulleys - In this component, visitors use intermediate pulleys and drive belts and learn how turning a pulley on one side of the table in a specified direction will turn another pulley on the other side of the table.

Wind Area:

Walk-In Wind Tunnel - This activity provides a full-body experience with lift and drag, two important forces related to flight. Visitors put on foam plastic wings and experiment with angle of attack as a variable in determining the effectiveness of a wing to produce lift and reduce drag.
Windmills - Visitors design and test a propeller for speed by choosing blade shape, number of blades, and angle of attack, and measure its success by the electrical output produced by a generator.
Paper Airplanes - Selecting from a computer menu of plane designs and following step-by-step folding instructions, visitors create paper airplanes. They then test their designs for flight stability in a wind tunnel and learn the importance of wind tunnels in the engineering of airplanes.

Exploring Engineering as a Career:

Video Kiosk - At the video kiosk, visitors view young people involved in classroom engineering discussions and hands-on engineering projects. Two videos from the PBS "Futures" series feature nationally-recognized mathematics teacher Jaime Escalante and his class while they explore the topics of architectural engineering and automotive engineering.