190 students from 17 southern Illinois high schools compete in Robinson engineering contest

ROBINSON, Ill. (WTHI) - 190 students from 17 southern Illinois high schools competed Thursday morning in the fourth annual engineering contest at Robinson High School.

David Forbes, a math teacher and engineering club sponsor at Robinson High School, said the students are from southern Illinois, within about a two-hour drive of the school. A college fair was held during the contest, and students could explore the programs colleges offer.

Four builds

Forbes said students completed four builds to prepare for the contest. He said organizers also planned surprise builds.

“One is a toothpick bridge, the kids use toothpicks and glue, and they’re going to glue them together to make a structure,” Forbes said. “Then they get smashed. The contest then is how much force it will take divided by its weight.”

They also have a wind powered sail car, where teams build cars that move with a fan and the measure how far they travel.

“We’re doing a tennis ball catapult, so they’ll launch a tennis ball from their catapult and see how far it goes,” Forbes said. “Then our other one is a rubber band flying machine contest, where they rig up a little contraption with a propeller and rubber band and see how long it’ll fly up in the air,” Forbes said.

A four-year participant

Eli Reed, a Robinson High School senior, has participated in the contest all four years. He said he built the toothpick bridge and the rubber band flying machine.

“I’ve done this contest for the past four years, so I’ve learned a little bit from my previous experiences,” Reed said. “And then seeing other people’s bridges kind of allowed me to design it in the best way possible.”

Reed said he wants to be a mechanical engineer.

“I’ve learned how to really like apply myself and make sure that I’m doing the best work possible, because it really matters like what you put into it, you get out of it,” Reed said.

A first-year participant

Josh Crouse, a Robinson High School senior, is a first-year participant. He said he and a friend were assigned the wind-powered car.

“It took us a few tries to get it to where we wanted it to, but then after about a month or so, we got it to actually go where we wanted it to,” Crouse said.

He said he would recommend the contest to students who have not tried it.

“It helps you build connections with people and helps you just be able to talk to people and help build something,” Crouse said.

Why Robinson hosts the contest

Forbes said Robinson High School picked up the contest from another school four years ago. He said that school’s contest ended after the teacher who ran it retired.

Forbes said it is difficult for a small southern Illinois school to justify an engineering program.

“To try and provide as much experience as possible for our kids to have those engineering experiences as they go off to college, it’s good to have a contest like this where area schools can come, learn a little bit about engineering, what it’s like, how to work in a group, teamwork, team build, things like that, and also make those college connections that will help them down the road,” Forbes said.

Forbes said many students do not know what engineering is because there are many types.

“Participating in this contest gives them a little bit of experience as to what that type of engineering is in terms of building things, trying to answer questions, thinking through difficult problems,” Forbes said. “Because really we’re trying to make problem solvers for the next generation.”

Forbes said many students are more interested in engineering after the contest and start looking at it as an opportunity for college.

Forbes said this is his 27th year teaching math. He said some of his former students who took part in the contest have returned as community volunteers.

“As a teacher, it’s very fun to see their work and effort either pay off or sometimes they struggle,” Forbes said. “But struggle’s okay because we’ve got to learn from that struggle.”

Forbes thanked community partners and the school’s academic foundation for supporting the contest.