Sheldon, Iowa — Launch a raw egg and hit a target several feet away. Sounds messy, huh? That’s the object of the NCC Engineering Expo in which many local teams are participating this Wednesday, May 4th, at Northwest Iowa Community College.
Organizers say it also aims to promote engineering as an exciting field for young people, to provide a service to society, to encourage teamwork, and to assist in STEM education outside of the classroom. The teams designed their catapults to launch raw eggs a specified distance, but they don’t know until the day of the event what the exact distance will be. The catapults are designed and built by the teams. The winning teams will have launched their eggs the farthest distance.
NCC organizers say each team will set up their catapult, which was designed and built by their team, in a designated launch area and will launch raw eggs at a bull’s-eye target on the opposite end of the playing field. Each team will get three practice shots and five scored shots. This field competition will count for 50 of the total 100 possible points.
Each team will also compete in a set of 5 timed problem-solving contests. The students know there are on-site problems, but they don’t know what they are until they walk in the room for the competition. Each team will also be scored on a presentation highlighting how they built their catapults and their findings.
Participating will be teams from Orange City Career Academy, Sheldon, two teams from Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn, Trinity Christian, Central Lyon, three teams from Sioux Center, and a team from South O’Brien.
