By Jayson Larson/TVCC Public Information Officer
The Trinity Valley Community College Science Club is doing that spring fling thing again – literally.
The Science Club is hosting its second-annual Earth Day Festival and Egg Catapult Competition on Tuesday, April 22, from 1-5 p.m. in front of the Gibbs Academic Building. The festival aims to raise awareness about Earth Day and topics such as energy conservation, “green” living and recycling. Various non-profit groups from the area – including the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center, the Henderson County Humane Society and Hope Springs Water – will have booths at the festival.
The Egg Catapult Competition provides a fun afternoon for students and serious scholarship money for the top finishers. Each member of the winning team (which can consist of up to four members) will receive a $1,000 Science and Math scholarship.
Biology instructor Jan Jennings said participants don’t have to be math or science majors, and the competition is open to any TVCC student including those in high school or dual-credit programs.
Participants will be required to use a trebuchet to launch their eggs. Unlike a catapult, a trebuchet uses gravity (via a counterbalance) and rotates 180 degrees to fling its object – turning the potential energy of its projectile into kinetic energy. A catapult arm, on the other hand, travels only 90 degrees and uses tension and a lever to fire.
After showing off their egg-flinging skills, the top five contenders will then be selected to make a PowerPoint presentation before a panel of judges explaining how they built their project. Finally, the students will have to submit a cost analysis for their project.
The judges will then award points based on each of the three presentations.
“This started last year as an activity for the science club, but we wanted it to be open to any student involved with TVCC,” Jennings said. “You launch a raw egg at a frying pan, and you’ll be judged on things such as accuracy and design. We’re going to be breaking eggs all over the place, and it’s going to be fun.”
For more information, contact Jennings at [email protected] or call her at 903-675-6382 or Dr. Michael Felty at [email protected] or call him at 903-670-2669.