Enthusiastic cheering nearly drowned out the sound of snapping Popsicle-stick bridges and tumbling water bottles as 89 London-area scouts and girl guides immersed themselves in the world of engineering and technology on Saturday (March 3).
Scout and guide troops from London and Thorndale converged on the Scouts Canada Southwestern Ontario Administrative Centre on Windermere Road for the 15th annual Guiding Exploring Technology – Scouting Exploring Technology (GETSET) event which is meant to expose young people to science, physics and engineering as part of National Engineering Month.
The day-long event began with the troops heading out into the city to see examples of technology and engineering at work with tours at Laser Quest London, London Ice Cream Company, Try Recycling, London Fire Department and One London Place.
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- Hunter Cartwright of the 5th London Scouting Group guides a computerized remote-control plane over an artificial world while trying out a flight simulator run by the Strathroy Flying Farmers R/C Airplane Club.
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- Ryan Diliszczak of the 5th London Scouting Group smiles as he watches a hydraulic press began to crush a Popsicle-stick bridge he built for a bridge-busting competition. Ryan’s bridge withstood 114.4 kilograms of pressure and beat out eight other bridges to win the competition. He was awarded a $50 gift certificate for the London Scout Shop.
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- Members of the 39th London Pathfinders, including Brittney Pinnell, Cassidy Hopkins, Brooklyn Armer, Teresa Pinder and Autumn Sims, build a suspension bridge out of cardboard, trellises and masking tape as part of a contest to see which group’s bridge would support the most 500-gram water bottles. The girls’ engineering efforts paid off as they were able to win the contest when their bridge supported 49 bottles before collapsing.
Clarissa Welsh, 12, of the 5th London Scouting Group, said she was surprised to learn just how complicated the process of preparing ice cream can be when her troop visited the London Ice Cream Company.
“I didn’t know there were so many steps to go through, like how hot they have to pasteurize the ingredients,” she said. “There were so many different types of machines.”
Clarissa added that visiting the company has inspired her to consider a career in an engineering or technology-based field one day.
“I would really like to do something with that type of machinery. I think it would be really fun.”
Sam Giustizia, Rajie Gill and Alex Orenczuk, all from the 70th London Scouting Group, had a chance to visit a London Fire Department training station and see what kinds of technology firefighters use when battling a blaze.
Alex said the firefighters showed them the infrared cameras used to find heat in the walls at a fire scene to make sure an extinguished fire won’t ignite again, as well as motion sensors firefighters carry in their gear that send out a signal if they remain still too long, allowing emergency personnel to find firefighters who are unconscious.
Sam said he was impressed by the Jaws of Life hydraulic tools firefighters use to pry trapped people from vehicles.
Once back from the tours, the troops had a chance to sit in on presentations about CANDU nuclear reactors, energy efficient lighting and food safety or visit interactive display tables on subjects such as flight simulators, the Thames Valley Central Modular Railroad Club and the Canadian Military Police.
Rajie said he had the most fun using the flight simulator set up by the Strathroy Flying Farmers R/C Airplane Club.
“I like the way the things work, like how somebody programmed the simulator and programmed the plane into that environment,” he said.
But the main events of the day involved the destruction of model bridges.
The troops first had the chance to build suspension bridges using two frames, a piece of cardboard and a roll of masking tape.
The troop that could load the most 500-gram water bottles onto the bridge before it collapsed won. The girls of the 39th London Pathfinders came in first with 49 bottles.
Next was the bridge-busting competition where Scouts and Guides put bridges they had built from Popsicle sticks and white glue to the test against a hydraulic press to show the troops how engineers test new bridge designs.
Whichever bridge could withstand the most pressure would win the contest.
Although no one broke the 227-kilogram record set by Zack Kezar several years ago, Ryan Diliszczak of the 5th London Scouts came out the winner of the competition when his bridge remained intact until 114.4 kilograms of pressure was placed upon it.
Pierre Holden, a professional engineer and a retired scout leader, and Peter Nicholas of the 5th London Scouting Group, one of the GETSET organizers, said the day’s tours, presentations and contests will allow the scouts and guides who participated to complete work towards their Engineering Technology and Science badges.
The cost to attend the GETSET event was one non-perishable food item and Nicholas said roughly 90 items, or two drums, of food was collected.
