The November Engineering Challenge, to create a grocery grabber, took place last week. Students were given 45 minutes to construct a two-foot grabber that could reach small food items placed high on a shelf or far across a table. The groups were provided cardboard, wood materials such as dowels and Popsicle sticks, bolts and screws, netting, and plastic Bubble Wrap. To test the grabbers, each group had a representative team member grab six separate items and put them in a mini “shopping cart” without dropping or touching the items. The items included a box of tea, a box of cake, a spice jar, an apple, a clementine, and a sweet potato. Groups were ranked by how quickly they completed the challenge.
Samantha Hargy and Casey McAndrews took first place with a time of 24 seconds. In second place, with a time of 36 seconds, were Connor Downing and Zachary Bresnick. A third-place tie (at 47 seconds) went to Adam Bilodeau and Lucas Dutton, David Packer, Elizabeth O’Brien, and Nathaniel Packer, and Harrison Dorr and Garrett Zeilinger.
