More than 60 student inventions ranging from devices that assist people with disabilities to new toys and whimsical Rube Goldberg contraptions will be demonstrated at CU-Boulder's ITLL Spring Design Expo on Saturday, April 26.
The end-of-semester event will showcase the work of more than 300 engineering students at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Student projects include a tricycle that can travel on water, a bungee-cord ball thrower that can be attached to a wheelchair and an alarm that teaches young children about fire safety. An array of battling robots also will fight to see which can pick up the most ping-pong balls.
The Expo is free and open to the public from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory, located in the Engineering Center Complex on Regent Drive about one block south of Colorado Avenue. Free parking is available across the street in lot 436.
The Expo often attracts a large number of families as it provides an educational opportunity for children to learn about the field of engineering.
About half the projects to be exhibited were designed and built by first-year engineering students. The Expo also will feature about 30 "capstone" design projects created by seniors in aerospace, chemical and mechanical engineering, and computer science. Microsoft Research is sponsoring the event.
Volunteers from industry, government and the community will serve as judges, rating each project on its originality, craftsmanship, understanding of engineering principles, effectiveness and poster presentation. An awards ceremony will be held at the close of the event, and prizes will be given to the best project in each category. Members of the community also can vote for their favorite project to win the "People's Choice" award.
For more information call (303) 492-7222.