Seven Tri-State University civil engineering majors saw the sweet side of structural design and construction when they conducted an engineering outreach activity for Hendry Park Elementary School fifth-graders in Angola Feb. 21 as part of National Engineers Week.

Stephen Rushfeldt, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) chapter president, joined Jonathan Wicks, Curt Daniels, Jordan Eldridge, Stephen Mitchell, Brittany Stensland and Katie Silveus in giving a brief presentation about civil engineering and the projects with which it is concerned. They followed that with a structural design and construction exercise using toothpicks, barbecue skewers, and candy DOTS.

Hendry Park students built structures at least four inches tall and able to support the “bible” of structural steel design—the American Institute of Steel Construction manual, weighing approximately four pounds.

While the outreach factored into TSU’s National Engineer Week celebration, it also provided TSU’s ASCE chapter a chance to engage in its initiative to raise awareness about engineering and technology, and engage children in the constructed world in which they live.