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RAPID CITY, S.D. (Feb. 7, 2013) – Nearly 400 middle school students will explore the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology during the 36th national annual Engineers Week, Feb. 18-23.
Campus tours on Thursday, Feb. 21, will highlight E-Week, which officially kicks off at the School of Mines on Tuesday, Feb. 19, when 86 students will be initiated into the national Order of the Engineer society during a private ceremony.
With a week of registration left, the group of 390 mostly middle school students who have signed up to visit campus makes up one of the largest at the School of Mines in several years. While most are from Rapid City, students will also travel from schools in Spearfish, Kadoka, Mission and Lusk, Wyo. Visitors will get the opportunity to tour departments and will be treated to a magic chemistry show.
Tours are designed to help spark interest in careers related to science, technology, engineering and math. School of Mines faculty, staff and students will lead morning tours of various departments, which may include demonstrations or displays of engineering creations and discussions about everyday science applications.
The public is invited to a 3 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 19, presentation in the Devereaux Library, during which an internationally-acclaimed artist will highlight the interconnection between math, science and art. Dick Termes of Spearfish is best known for his work on Termespheres, three-dimensional paintings on hanging spheres. He captures a complete 360-degree world by painting with a six-point perspective.
At 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20, Mines student teams will participate in a contest building images of Black Hills attractions with cans of food to be donated to a pantry. In the past, each large-scale creation involved hundreds of cans. The event, held in SALC in the lower level of the Surbeck Center, is sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineers and is open to the public.
Public events on Thursday, Feb. 21, include a noon-1 p.m. concert in the Music Center, formerly the old gym next to the O’Harra administration building, and a 1-2 p.m. presentation on the Curiosity Rover by Tom Durkin, deputy director and outreach coordinator of the NASA South Dakota Space Grant Consortium, in the Surbeck Center ballroom.
On Friday, Feb. 22, Mines students will participate in the Rube Goldberg Machine Challenge, a timed event during which teams will be challenged to create a machine that can hammer a nail with at least 20 steps. Judging begins at 3 p.m. in the ballroom and is open to the public. In addition to the School of Mines, Theta Tau Fraternity and the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) will host the annual event.
Two Friday evening events are also open to the public, the 7 p.m. Mr. & Miss Mines Competition in the Surbeck ballroom and a 7:30 p.m. a musical concert by the Mines Jazz Band and Master Chorale in the Music Center.
The weeklong festivities will end Saturday, Feb. 23, with a 1 p.m. Math Counts Contest hosted by the Black Hills Chapter of the South Dakota Engineering Society in the Classroom Building.
Founded in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers, Engineers Week is among the oldest of America’s professional outreach efforts. This year’s events are sponsored by the School of Mines, South Dakota Engineering Society and ASHRAE.
Public events during Engineers Week:
- Dick Termes presentation on Termespheres art, 3 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 19, Devereaux Library
- CanStruction Competition, 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 20, SALC, lower floor of the Surbeck Center
- Music in Engineering special concert, noon-1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21, in the Music Center, formerly the old gym next to the O’Harra administration building
- Museum of Geology open house, noon-4 p.m., museum, located in the O’Harra building
- Curiosity Rover presentation by Tom Durkin, deputy director and outreach coordinator of the NASA South Dakota Space Grant Consortium, 1-2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21, Surbeck Center ballroom
- Rube Goldberg Machine Contest judging and demonstrations, 3 p.m. Friday, Feb. 22, Surbeck Center ballroom
- Mr. & Miss Mines Competition, 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 22, Surbeck Center ballroom
- Mines Jazz Band and Master Chorale concert, 7:30 p.m., Friday, Feb. 22, Music Center
- Math Counts Contest for students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades, sponsored by the Black Hills Chapter of the South Dakota Engineering Society, 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23, Classroom Building, room 204; contact Jason Eatherton at (605) 718-3521 or Steve Baries at (605) 381-0387.