By Virginia You
Staff Writer

A hundred participants arrived from schools around Indiana to join in Purdue Engineering Student Council's Elementary IDEAS — Inspiring the Development of Engineering Aspects in Students. It was a daylong event that introduced fourth and fifth graders to the basics of engineering.

"Elementary IDEAS is designed to introduce engineering fundamentals to grade school children," said Sarah Guthrie, co-director of the event and a sophomore in the Schools of Engineering.

The free event that began at 9:30 a.m. gave a Chrysler T-shirt and free Blimpie lunch to each child.

"One student was so excited that he got here at a quarter 'til eight because he wanted to be here on time," said Guthrie.

The day started with a presentation given by Roger Boyce, assistant outreach coordinator of physics. Boyce demonstrated various experiments while explaining how they work. He involved the children by asking for a "young lady" or a "young man" to assist in his experiments.

After the opening, the children were split into five groups, depending on the color on their nametags. Then they were placed with a group leader who guided them to each experiment.

The five experiments, which lasted about 40 minutes each, took place throughout the day until about 3:30 p.m. with a lunch and recess break.

Making liquid nitrogen ice cream was one of the experiments. It was given as an agricultural and biological engineering experiment. The volunteers who were in charge of this experiment poured milk — chocolate and/or strawberry — and then liquid nitrogen into a Styrofoam cup while the child or parent stirred.

Chemical engineering sponsored an experiment to make slime from white glue, water and food coloring. The purpose of this event was to show the children how some chemical bonding and attractions work.

The children were also introduced to civil engineering by building a gum drop structure that would support books by using a package of uncooked spaghetti or toothpicks, a bag of candy and books.

The only experiment that didn't involve food was the one given by electrical and computer engineering, in which they designed their own Web pages.

Brian Williams, a fourth grader from Mill Creek West School in Amo, Ind., was ahead of the game. Williams finished each process earlier than was expected and proceeded to experiment by changing the font color from blue to the Purdue colors of black and gold. The Purdue spirit rubbed off when Steve Arnone from Danville, Ind., a family friend of Williams', followed his lead.

While filling out his Web site, Williams typed in the interest section, "becoming a(n) Aerospace Engineer." His reason for attending was a simple one.

"I kinda just like looking at space," said Williams.

Arnone, a Purdue alumnus, added that Williams wishes to work for NASA someday.

The last experiment involved mechanical engineering — making edible cars. The children were provided with carrots, celery, rice cakes, cake icing, cucumbers and graham crackers. After the children built the cars, they attempted to roll the cars down a ramp.

With each experiment, the engineering student council volunteers explained the process and the scientific reasons behind what was happening in a way that the children could understand.

As a goal, the experiments were designed to aid the children in thinking like engineers.

"Through hands-on projects in various engineering disciplines, students are exposed to engineering-type problems and experiments," said Guthrie. "The activities are designed to promote logical thinking and problem-solving skills, build awareness of the multiple areas encompassed by engineering, and encourage interaction with current engineering students and graduates."