Each month Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School students are given the opportunity to compete in an engineering challenge. The goal of the challenge, according to school officials, is to give students an opportunity to experience the work process of engineering a design challenge, and to collaborate with one another to get the job done well, in a different competition than the yearly science fair.
The students are issued a design challenge at the meet. Working in teams of two or three, they have 45 minutes to complete the task. Then the designs are evaluated to determine the meet winners.
The April challenge, held last week, was to create a lunchbox and an insulated beverage container. Requirements for the lunchbox were a functioning handle and the ability to carry some Pringles chips and eggs without breakage if the box was shifted around or dropped. The beverage container, which students created from a water bottle and a variety of insulating materials, had to maintain water at a set temperature.
Winners were determined by scoring a lunchbox drop test and carrying test, and a beverage container temperature check.
First place went to Emma Johnson and Barra Peak, second place to Jared Livingston and Chris Aring, and third place to Peter Ruimerman.
The April challenge concluded the 2013-14 school year competition. All members of winning teams accumulated points since last fall, and those with the most points received awards as the grand winners.
Peter Ruimerman took first place overall, Galen Mayhew, Kevin Montambault, second place, and Zach Bresnick, third place. Connor Downing, Thorpe Karabees, Andrew Ruimerman, and Willow Wunsch earned honorable mentions.
MVRHS science teacher Natalie Munn organized and ran the meets, with the help of a team of teachers including Chris Connors, Anna Cotton, Catherine DeGrandpre, Dana Munn, and Dawne Nelson.
