Minnesota State Mankato to Host 5th-12th Grade Regional Engineering Machine Design Contest
Mankato, Minn. – Minnesota State University, Mankato’s College of Science, Engineering and Technology is the host of the Minnesota State Engineering Center of Excellence’s Regional Engineering Machine Design Contest for 5th through 12th-grade students Friday, March 25 from 8 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.
This year’s theme is “Power the World Engineering Energy.” Student teams will compete in either the junior (5th-8th grade) or senior (9th-12th grade) division of the contest.
The event is free and open to the public and will be held on campus in Centennial Student Union’s ballrooms and Ostrander Auditorium. The preliminary round is from 10-11:40 a.m., and the final round is from 12:15-1:40 p.m. The “Snowplow Presentation and Award Ceremony” will be held in Ostrander Auditorium from 1:40-2:15 p.m.
The junior division consists of five teams from New Century School in St. Paul and the Worthington Christian School. The senior division consists of eight teams from Canby High School, Central Lyon High School, St. Clair High School, and Southland High School.
According to an event preview, the Engineering Machine Design Contest is an opportunity for teams of 3-12 students to design and build a complex machine using everyday objects with the guidance of a coach. The completed machines will use multiple steps to complete a simple task.
The overall goals of this program are to:
- Provide a low cost or affordable option for teams to compete,
- Inspire an interest in engineering and related career pathways, and
- Equip students with skills that will help prepare them for future careers.
(NOTE TO EDITORS: Media interested in covering the event should contact Joann Jaqua by phone at 507-389-1257 or by email at joann.jaqua@mnsu.edu.)
Minnesota State Mankato, a comprehensive university with 14,546 students, is part of the Minnesota State system, which includes 30 colleges and seven universities.
