Day 2: From Waste to Wonder

Spira day two was amazing, possibly even better than Spira day one! We began our day with a 'Do Now' question and subsequent discussion led by our wonderful mentors. The question (about the value of quality/durability versus aesthetics) led us into a presentation about this week's engineering topics (Mechanical and Civil Engineering and Industrial Design) led by two of our mentors, Patricia and Callie. We then jumped right into our project for the day-- cardboard furniture. Our campers did an amazing job and came up with some pretty incredible designs!! See our facebook page (Spira Engineering Camp) for pictures of the designs throughout the process. We stopped working to have lunch in the middle of the project, and after we ate, we played a lively game of Mafia. We then resumed the project, with all the groups finishing up. We journeyed down to Prince Labs to work on a trebuchet project, using materials and instructions provided by Maggie Mathieu, a Brown engineering student. Not all of the trebuchets launched their cargo (marbles) successfully, but we had fun trying and will use some time tomorrow to troubleshoot. Overall, it was a great day-- with our students showcasing their stellar design and construction abilities. Can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring!