KATIE SEELER

REFERENCE SERVICES LIBRARIAN

ALEXANDRIA CAMPUS

I attended a magnet school for Pre-Engineering in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  During my freshmen year (2000), our beginning engineering class was tasked with creating a cardboard boat from a designated list of supplies that teams of 2 would paddle across the swimming pool and back.  My partner Stephanie and I worked on the project for at least a month – gathering cardboard, box cutters, duct tape, and Thomson’s water seal; designing and constructing our boat; and testing the finished product in her family’s pool.

The day of reckoning finally arrived and it was a cold one (we’re Floridians, so cut us some slack!).  Our class was all there, along with another class to observe and cheer us on.  I’m happy to report that Stephanie and I survived the trek across the pool and back in one piece, although quite a few others were not so fortunate.  All in all, it was a lot of fun, especially watching the video afterwards when someone’s boat entirely disintegrated into hundreds of pieces when they entered the water.  Our boat was saved as an example for future students, although it’s probably long gone by now.