VIU Engineering Fair December 5 and 18, 2007

In December 2007 the Department of Physics and Engineering at Vancouver Island University held its popular Engineering Fair on two separate days: December 5 and 18. The Engineering Fair is an event which aims to introduce students to the Engineering profession as well as provide them with the opportunity to design and build a Trebuchet, a siege engine, and compete with other students.

On December 5 the participants were from the grade 11 Physics classes of Dover Bay secondary and on December 18 were from the grade 11 Physics classes of Kwalikum and Woodlands secondaries. The events began with a welcome speech by the head of the department, followed by a brief history of Trebuchets and an overview of the Design process. Professional Engineers from Herold Engineering Ltd also provided a glimpse of the Engineering profession during lunch. The students had the opportunity to test their ingenuity by competing against their classmates in a competition which tested both the accuracy and distance capabilities of their designs. At the end of the contest, the students were rewarded with participation medals and, of course, the prizes. Before departing the students had the opportunity to tour the department's engineering labs.

The top winners of the competitions were the following:

Dec. 5, 2007: Jee-Hon Tak and Sean Rudston-Brown, Dover Bay Secondary School.

Dec. 18, 2007: Chris Lo-Pryke and Jesse Doolin, Kwalikum Secondary School and Deborah Chen and Morganne Franssen, Woodlands Secondary School.

Pictures from the December 5, 2007 Engineering Fair.

Dover Bay Secondary students testing their trebuchet design.

Participation medallions and gifts awarded to Dover Bay Secondary students at the end of the event.

Pictures from the December 5, 2007 Engineering Fair.

Woodlands Secondary students competing.

Kwalikum Secondary students competing.

The happy Kwalikum Secondary students posing in front of their trebuchets at the end of the event.

The happy Woodlands Secondary students in a group photo at the end of the event.