Undergraduate Admissions

What is the best type of cushion to prevent an egg from breaking when dropped?

Some 50 seventh-grade students from Our Lady’s Christian School will find out Thursday, April 23 when Gannon University hosts its Mechanical Engineering Day.

The day is designed to give the students insight into careers in mechanical engineering and stimulate their interest in mechanical engineering and related fields. The participating students are in a Math Enrichment Program at OLC.

Gannon University mechanical engineering students are selecting a number of activities for the seventh-graders to participate in, said Dr. Karinna Vernaza, assistant professor, mechanical engineering at Gannon. The activities are designed to help the students explore, in a fun way, important concepts in mechanical engineering like dynamics, mechanics, impact/dampening, and aerodynamics.

For instance, teams of students will participate in a competition in which they have to drop an egg from a distance of eight feet without breaking it. Each team will start the competition with 100 points.

The students will be able to choose different materials, like cotton balls, straw, construction paper, and Styrofoam containers, to use so as to cushion the egg’s fall. The “better” materials, like the Styrofoam, “cost” more points, Vernaza explained. Teams will earn points if their eggs do not break upon impact.

All events, with the exception of a lunch, will be held in the Yehl Room of the Gannon University Waldron Campus Center, 124 West 7th St. The schedule:

• 8:45-9 a.m. – Registration and welcome by Dr. Melanie Hatch, Dean of the College of Engineering and Business; and by Dr. Mahesh Aggarwal, professor and chairperson, Mechanical Engineering.

• 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. – Activities.

• 12 to 1 p.m. – Lunch, Beyer Hall cafeteria.

• 1 to 1:15 p.m. – Admissions talk.

• 1:15 to 1:45 p.m. – “Who Wants to be An Engineer” video.
1:45 to 2:10 p.m. – Presentation of certificates and prizes.