Snow Sled Contest Pairs Elementary School Girls With Colorado State Women Engineering Students For Fun, Learning Monday, February 10, 1997 Note: Media may obtain photographs, film footage or interview participants at the contest, scheduled from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Sat., Feb. 15 at the hill near Hughes Stadium. FORT COLLINS--Thirty elementary school girls will team up with members of Colorado State University's Society of Women Engineers to test their engineering and design skills in the second annual Snow Sled Contest. The contest, scheduled Feb. 15 at Hughes Stadium (snow permitting), involves fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade girls from Beattie Elementary School's Girls in Math and Science Club. First organized in 1996, the contest aims to introduce young girls to engineering and encourages them to interact with college-level women pursuing engineering degrees and women engineers from private industry, said Sue James, co-organizer and assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Colorado State. "The purpose of this event is to show these young girls that engineering can be fun and get them exposed to the basic concepts of engineering at an early age," James said. "The most valuable part is the girls have access to role models." The girls are divided into teams, each building a sled with the oversight of women engineering students and engineers. The girls use plastic sheets, old skis, inflatable rafts, foam, wax, wood and a variety of other materials. In the design phase, the students learn basic engineering principles involved with sled- building, such as friction, aerodynamics, strength and stiffness. "The girls who participated last year realized there was a lot they didn't know that was math- and science-related," said Nancee Codd, a teacher at Beattie and advisor for the girls' math and science club. "There was a lot of enthusiasm." A grand prize goes to the team with the most points overall, plus prizes for each team with the most points in each of the following categories: the best engineered sled, fastest time down the alpine course, the most maneuverable, and the safest. In addition to Colorado State's civil engineering department sponsoring the event, Hewlett-Packard, Dow and Woodward Governor provided financial support and engineering staff as contest volunteers. Return to the Colorado State University News page. This page © 1997-1998 World Wide Express, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Many news stories on RamLine.com come from the Colorado State University Public Relations Office. You can get copies of the news releases directly by filling out this form.