Advertisement “That didn’t sound good,” Dustin Piper said, looking down from atop a ladder at his “egg-stronaut,” which had just completed its quick but rough journey. “I think it broke.”
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David Trautmann, 14, of Holmen adjusts the parachute of his eggstronaut while attending the weeklong 4-H Gateway Academy at Central High School.
PETER THOMSON photo
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The 12-year-old Rockland, Wis., boy had spent the morning creating the carrier using craft sticks, masking tape, string, garbage bag, plastic bottle, two straws and the hope his egg would come back from space in one solid piece. His challenge: build a transporter to carry an egg during a drop from the ladder.
“I had a lot of different things I was thinking about, but I decided to put the egg in the bottle and cushion it with paper and the plastic bag,” Piper said. “I want to keep it secure and make sure it doesn’t fall.”
His plan proved to work better on paper.
Piper was among 11 La Crosse County youths who recently participated in the 4-H Gateway Academy day camp offered by the University of Wisconsin Extension, La Crosse County 4-H, Society of Manufacturing Engineers and the La Crosse School District.
Students worked together using leading technologies to learn about robotics, aeronautics and computer design.
“I give them problems and they have to find solutions,” said Doug Dammen, technology and engineering teacher at Central High School.
The kids brainstormed ideas and put their thoughts on paper before building real solutions.
Michael Londergan of La Crosse thought about a parachute. Then he looked into a cushion. The teen even looked into blowing up the bag and contemplated using straws to absorb the shock when the vessel landed.
But when it came time to build, Londergan chose the parachute because he thought it would “best slow the egg down” before it hit the ground.
“The bag will fill up with air and make the egg fall slowly,” he said. “I think it will go pretty well.”
Londergan said building the egg transporter was fun. “I like the idea of inventing stuff and seeing if it will work or not,” he said.
Working on the projects made Piper want to do more at home. “It’s pretty neat to think of a lot of different things to make,” he said. “At first I didn’t think I could do that, but I can.”
Derrick Collins, 12, who lives in the town of Burns, said 4-H Gateway Academy has given him the opportunity to do hands-on projects and computer work that he doesn’t get to do a lot of at Bangor Middle School. “It’s really fun.”
Bob Matysik, 4-H and youth agent for La Crosse County, said the camp was made possible by a Kerns Foundation grant.
La Crosse was one of 10 sites selected to offer the academy, which is based on Project Lead the Way’s science, technology, engineering and math curriculum.
“In the summer 4-H traditionally focuses on fairs and camps,” he said, “but a (goal) we have is to increase our math and science offerings.”
Autumn Grooms can be reached at (608) 791-8424 or agrooms@lacrossetribune.com.
