VIU Engineering Fair February 26 and 28, 2008

On February 26 and 28 the Department of Physics and Engineering at Vancouver Island University held its popular Engineering Fair. 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 February 26 grade 11 physics students from Wellington and Woodlands Secondary Schools participated in the event and on February 28 the participants were the grade 11 and 12 physics students from John Barsby and Cedar Community Secondary Schools. The events began with a welcome speech followed by a brief history of Trebuchets and an overview of the Design process by prof. Brian Dick. Prof. Ray Penner provided specific details about building the Trebuchets. Professional Engineers from Herold Engineering Ltd and Inuktun Services Ltd also provided a glimpse of the Engineering profession and gave practical advice about the path to becoming an Engineer. 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. A friendly contest between the teams from the two schools concluded the competition and all students were rewarded with participation medals. The top teams were awarded prizes.

The Engineering Department would like to thank the participating teachers and students as well as express its gratitude to Herold Engineering Ltd and Inuktun Services Ltd for their contributions to the event. We would also like to recognise the top winners of the competitions:

February 26, 2008

1st: Devin Winters and Tyler Rail, Woodlands Secondary School
2nd: Ken Tso and Dean Hulley, Wellington Secondary School
3rd: Chris Backhouse and Jessica Twiss, Woodlands Secondary School
4th: Lee Myhre and Jesse Lim, Wellington Secondary School

February 28, 2008

1st: Matt Morton and Steve Hemmerich, Cedar Community Secondary School
2nd: David Atkins and Ethan Meservia, John Barsby Secondary School
3rd: Nelson Sanrvd and Blake Knezevich, Cedar Community Secondary School
4th: Samantha Friesen and Gregory Sigalet, John Barsby Secondary School

Pictures from the Engineering Fair.