Tag Archives: library

AL Campus Weekly Announcements

Faculty Spotlight: Katie Seeler

KATIE SEELER

REFERENCE SERVICES LIBRARIAN

ALEXANDRIA CAMPUS

Cardboard Boat (Edit)

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.

AL Campus Weekly Announcements

Faculty Spotlight: Matthew Todd

MATTHEW TODD

ASSOCIATE DEAN OF LEARNING AND TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES

ALEXANDRIA CAMPUS

 Castle of Berry Pomeroy on Dartmoor in Devon.

In 1994, I was researching 18th-century English domestic tourism (similar to the vogue for visiting US National Parks).  One of the highlights of my travel to England was the Westcountry picturesque tour circuit was the ruin of the 15th-century castle of Berry Pomeroy on Dartmoor in Devon.

Having convinced a friend to drive me out to the remote location of the abandoned castle we discovered it was closed to the public, enclosed by a high chain link fence, with a sturdy gate and no one around.

It seemed a shame to have come so far and not make our way to our goal – I needed to take some photographs and make some sketches in support of my research.  The course seemed obvious:  Storm the castle!!!! (well, jump the fence).