St. Ansgar high school engineering team takes 3rd place at the Engineering Machine Design Contest
St. Ansgar High School’s engineering team, Team America, took 3rd place in the Senior Division at the recent Minnesota State Engineering Center of Excellence’s Engineering Machine Design Contest. Members of the team were Justin Horgen, Ryan Cole, Brody Patterson, Kira Baldus, Alex Hansen, and Derek Peterson. They were coached by Devin Schwiesow, 9-12th grade science teacher at St. Ansgar CSD.
The first annual Engineering Machine Design Championship was held virtually on May 8th and teams earned their place in the Championship by advancing from one of four Regional Contests that took place in March and April. In total, 37 teams participated the Regional Contests with 12 advancing and competing in the Championship.
The Engineering Machine Design Contest is an opportunity for teams of 3-10 students to design and build a complex machine using everyday objects with the guidance of a coach. The completed machine will use multiple steps to complete a simple task. Teams showcase and exhibit their machine at a regional contest with the opportunity to advance to the Engineering Machine Design Championship. Teams are scored on a Team Journal, Team Presentation, and Machine Design and Operation.
Each year a competition theme is chosen to guide the machine build and allow for whimsical creativity to flourish. The theme for 2021 was Driving Change through Transportation.
Through this program, students can explore science, technology, engineering, and mathematic (STEM) principles while having fun in a collaborative environment.
Learn more:
• Engineering Machine Design Contest – https://engineering.mnsu.edu/engineering-machine-design-contest/
• Minnesota State Engineering Center of Excellence – https://engineering.mnsu.edu/
