|
News |
|
 |
|
Photo by Devin Courtright/The Advocate
Students create furniture from basic materials, primarily cardboard, in a project designed for them to participate in team work.
Students craft furniture from cardboard
The Advocate
Instructors Troy Donaldson and Andy Dryden have created a cardboard furniture contest to teach students the value of teamwork while giving them hands-on experience in basic engineering.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
“It’s a project that engages students in engineering,” said Donaldson. “We’re just really pleased with what the students have done. They just came up with some gorgeous, cool-looking, functional furniture out of nothing and that’s what engineering is all about: taking nothing and creating something.”
Donaldson and Dryden originally came up with the idea of constructing cardboard furniture as an assigned project for students in their intro engineering classes — GE 101-Engineering Orientation — and ET 123-Introduction to Engineering Technology.
Engineering students were divided into groups of three or four and were given a week to retrieve recycled cardboard materials, come up with designs and complete their cardboard furniture.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
One of the main points of the project was for students to learn how to work and cooperate with one another. “They had to learn how to function as a team, develop a plan, distribute the workload and get along,” said Donaldson.
The instructors decided their students would use cardboard as the sole material because “it’s very cheap, it’s easily available, and it has lots of structural application,” said Dryden.
However, the students were not allowed to use any paint or tape for their furniture, just cardboard and glue. Their options for glue ranged from Elmer’s school glue to construction grade glue.Caulking was allowed as long as it was the color of cardboard, said Donaldson.
Another stipulation for the contest was for the furniture to be able to hold a certain amount of weight and have design creativity. “The device (the furniture) must be capable of supporting 10 typical textbooks (weighing three pounds each) either hung on a wall or supported by the ground,” according to the instructors’ handout.
In the contest, the students met the weight criteria in addition to crafting their furniture to hold a maximum weight of 200-300 pounds in some cases.
“The furniture turned out great. It’s fantastic,” said Donaldson.
Donaldson said there were 20 cardboard pieces entered in the competition, ranging from office tables (including one shaped like a skateboard), bookshelves, swivel chairs, reclining chairs, deck chairs, “fancy” office chairs and a cushion chair made entirely of cardboard.
“They’re cool and they’re really slick,” said Donaldson.
The cardboard furniture will be displayed in the College Center Wednesday through Friday. After the competition, Donaldson and Dryden plan to move the student’s cardboard furniture into their offices, not only to replace their furniture but to display their students’ work all year long. “It’s as nice as the furniture I have,” said Donaldson.
The Advocate reserves the right to not publish comments based on their appropriateness.