It was only fitting that the Seaman High School Vikings of Topeka should sweep the 2009 KU School of Engineering High School Design Competition Tuesday, Oct. 27. The competition theme this year was Rock (Chalk) the Boat.
The Vikings not only rocked the boat, they swept the competition.
Teams of three to five students from throughout the region were challenged to design a boat, using as much recycled material as possible, that could race two different courses. Moreover, there were limitations on propulsion systems the students could use – no store-bought batteries, motors or CO2 canisters could be used, no prefabbed boat hulls, either. And their creation had to fit inside a 20-inch by 10-inch box.
Each team had to take part in two timed competitions – fastest time to navigate a 20-foot long waterway and greatest number of laps around a circular waterway – and teams could win points for additional activities and design decisions. All teams had to make a brief science fair style presentation about their design and discuss all recycled materials used.
The teams provided a variety of fresh ideas in their aqua-vehicle development. Propulsion systems included dry ice, water, rubber bands, surgical tubing, air and more.
Final results in the competition are:
Overall winners
- Seaman High School Semisubmersible
- Seaman High School Party Boat
- Seaman High School Swashbucklers
Straight course winners
- Seaman High School Swashbucklers
- Labette County High School LC Grizzlies
- Lawrence High School Luther Vandross
Circular course winners
- Seaman High School Semisubmersible
- Seaman High School Party Boat
- Seaman High School Swashbucklers
Design winners
- Remington High School Sensational Seamonkeys
- Seaman High School Swashbucklers
- Seaman High School Speedy Seaman
Cost report winners (best use of recycled materials)
- Seaman High School Semisubmersible
- Seaman High School Party Boat
- Seaman High School Swashbucklers
