2:35 p.m., July 18, 2007--Talk about building bridges, the 21 youngsters who attended this year's Engineering Cool Stuff Camp, sponsored by UD's Engineering Outreach Program, got to do just that--plus design a robotic dog for the disabled, a combination ignition switch and breathalyzer, a clothes hanger designed for lazy people, a digital watch in Braille and more.

This is only Engineering Cool Stuff Camp's second year, and Kathleen Werrell, assistant dean of engineering outreach and camp director, said they weren't expecting the response they got. “We never even got to do the mailing of brochures before the camp was filled,” Werrell said.

Held July 9-13, the camp drew area children ages 12-16 to learn the basics of engineering and apply them.

New this year was a bridge-building project in which teams of four and five constructed model bridges made of balsa wood that had to be able to withstand forces comparable for their scale to weights a bridge of concrete and steel would have to hold.

Once each bridge was built, its team tied a bucket to it and began filling the bucket with sand. The winning team's bridge was able to hold 12 pounds of sand before it fell.

Ian Simpson, 16, of Bear; Kathy Gerwig, 13, of New London, Pa.; Angela Li, 12, of Hockessin; and Steve Washburn, 14, of Greenville, constructed the winning bridge. Simpson said he wanted to attend the camp because he wants to become an engineer. “I wanted to get a feel for different engineering areas at UD. I'm not sure whether I want to go into civil or mechanical engineering,” he said.

Washburn said the camp was interesting and “very hands on.”

Gerwig said she thought the camp was fun and interesting but said one of the things she learned the most about was “working with other people and groups.”

The Engineering Cool Stuff Camp Fair was held on the last day, and youngsters displayed posters about proposed devices they had been designing all week. Besides the design plan, they had to determine how much each product would cost and create a marketing campaign using a marketing survey.

Jaysen Smith, 12, from Pennsville, N.J., had made a toy prototype of a robotic dog that had a cell phone and radio under each ear, could pull a wheelchair using magnets dragged from behind the dog, responded to voice/touch commands and, he said, was guaranteed not to bother people with allergies.

Another team designed a wire hanger that made it easy to hang up clothes. Their ad said the hanger would help people who are lazy, have messy rooms and don't have much time. The team's target market: lawyers, doctors, bankers, dentists and Congressmen.

In response to the number of automobile accidents caused by drunk drivers, one team designed a car ignition switch that scanned fingerprints. It would only start with the touch of the owner's finger and if the breathalyzer on the dashboard determined that the alcohol level of that person was within legal limits. If it wasn't, the car wouldn't start.

Article by Barbara Garrison