HENRY COUNTY SCHOOL SYSTEM
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Susan Burton
Communications Director
Murray, KY – Grove STEM students excitedly explain what it was like to build a kayak from PVC pipes, duct tape, plastic and vinyl wrap, “We had the experience of building as a team. Seeing the final project was cool, too.” Sixteen high school students from Grove and Henry County High School competed in the annual E-Day at Murray State University. Hosted by the School of Engineering, the event hosted 26 high schools from Kentucky, Tennessee, and southern Illinois with over 600 students in attendance participating in various activities requiring critical thinking and teamwork.
Grades 9-12 students in Michael Newman and Ray Butler’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) classes participated in two events, the Kayak and Survival Shelter. The kayaking event has been a work in progress for several weeks. The students, Kason Tucker, Chris Wood, Levi Joyner, Jackson Kamperman, and teacher Newman have been using materials donated by Abbott’s Printing and J & S Professional Services to make a kayak that could win the final racing event. Their kayak, Green Machine, came in a respectable fourth place out of 30 teams.
In the Survival Shelter event, the Grove team consisting of Oscar Zamarripa, Cody Underwood, Bryce Moore, Isaiah McManus, Tripp Houston, and Tony Partridge, and the HCHS team with Thomas Richardson, Hudson Massey, Carter Archie, Case Buckelew, Jackson Webb, and Grey Armstrong, were faced with the challenge of building a shelter to protect a balloon from the force of water from a hose sprayed by the local fire department. Since it was a blind project, the participants were unaware of what building supplies they would have or what the goal of the project would be until they arrived at the site. The students had a time limit to collaborate, problem-solve, make a sketch of their shelter, and build it for the final challenge. Both teams were able to build a shelter for their ballon but unfortunately, the shelters didn’t hold up to the blast of water. The results didn’t dampen their enthusiasm as they talked about the fun they had working together and learning from this unique experience.
#
Photo: Grove STEM team’s shelter takes a blast of water to test its durability.