Paddle, Float, but Don’t Sink! Cardboard Canoes Hit the Water – Cedarville University

Freshmen engineeringstudents and students from various academic departments at CedarvilleUniversity, floated, paddled, and otherwise made their way across Cedar Lake, aspart of the 28th annual cardboard canoe boat race held today, October 1 beginningat 3 p.m.

The cardboardcanoe race is one of the signature events of Cedarvilles Homecoming andParents Weekend. Each team consists of four students, two of whom must paddlefrom one end of the lake to the other without sinking.

Student teamsconstruct their canoes out of cardboard and tape. This activity is a classassignment for the engineering students, where their grade is based on theirsuccess or lack thereof in moving across the lake.

The canoerace originated from an idea presented by Dr. Larry Zavodney, senior professorof mechanical engineering, and former electrical engineering professor Dr. SamSanGregory. They received cardboard from a local mill and worked together tocreate a boat that could float in a pool. After being certain the cardboard andtape were capable of creating a viable boat, the professors decided to make itan assignment for engineering students.

The canoerace is very important to Cedarvilles engineering program, said Dr. RobertChasnov, dean of the school of engineering and computer science. In the past,many large engineering schools did not focus on the hands-on projects forundergraduate engineering students. We wanted to define a clear distinctionbetween our program and those at other institutions. As a result, the cardboardcanoe race competition was developed.

Freshmenengineering majors are taught how to use a particular software that helps themdetermine how much water a boat will displace given the weight of two people.This software, as well as the experience of an upperclassman advisor, givesstudents a head start on success.

My favoritepart of the boat races is actually seeing a well-made boat quickly come acrossthe lake, said Chasnov. Freshmen are given enough advice to make a boat thatdoesnt sink, but its the boatmanship of students that sets the teams apart.

The cardboardcanoe races are the first opportunity for freshmen to work as part of a team.This allows them to develop teamwork skills that will be an important part oftheir job in the future, noted Chasnov. The second lesson for freshmen islearning in a practical way that the laws of physics really do work.

Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 4,715 undergraduate, graduate, and online students in more than 150 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is one of the largest private universities in Ohio, recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, including its Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Computer Science programs, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings, and high student engagement ranking. For more information about the University, visit cedarville.edu.

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Paddle, Float, but Don't Sink! Cardboard Canoes Hit the Water - Cedarville University

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