Freeport team takes 3rd
FREEPORT — A team of Freeport Junior High School students placed third out of 24 teams on April 10 at the Fluid Power Challenge competition at the Carpenters Union Training Center in Pittsburgh.
Eight students from the school split into two teams of four. They designed and built small-scale fluid powered devices with basic materials.
Industrial arts teacher Mark Dempster said the students used hand tools, measuring devices and scissors, among other materials, to build a device that would move a small cylinder from one marked location to another.
The competition’s objective was to move as many cylinders as possible within two minutes, but they also were scored on their designs, portfolios and teamwork.
The key material that many students seemed to use throughout the challenge was a medical syringe. Dempster said the syringe acted in place of a pneumatic or hydraulic cylinder, which provides force and motion in larger fluid-powered machines.
The Freeport students were a mix of seventh- and eighth-grade students who are taking Dempster’s technology education class.
Anastazia Herbst, Hayden Bash, Liam Dress and Logan Negley belonged to team 1, while Alex Kladny, Rebecca Black, Connor Hoffman and Kaitlyn Ritter composed team 2.
The students participated in a Feb. 24 workshop day where they received basic instructions and ideas from the challenge’s staff.
They also were allowed to begin preparing a prototype, which they continued to design and build at their school during the time between the workshop and competition.
On their competition day, the students used their designs, but built an entirely new device from scratch, and were given only a few hours to do so.
Dempster said all this was done with no aid from himself.
“I’m not even allowed to be in the same room,” he said.
The Wojanis Supply Co. sponsored the event. Christine Simcic, the company’s secretary and treasurer, said she spoke to many students who enjoyed not having any help outside their own teammates.
“I think that allows them to be more creative,” she said. “We are amazed each year that seventh- and eighth-grade (students) come up with the ideas that they do.”
Freeport’s team 2 placed third.
A Chartiers Valley team placed first, and a Carlynton team took second.
Dempster said he was pleased with all the competitors from his class.
“They worked together cooperatively,” he said. “It was very satisfying to see them follow through with designing something and completing the solution.”
