"This activity will have excited families building and learning together with the help of their hometown hockey team," said Sharks Foundation Director Heather Hooper. "We hope all generations of Sharks fans will have fun while gaining confidence in their own ability to solve problems and engineer solutions."
Innovation on Ice: Zamboni® Design Challenge is a drop-in activity where visitors design their own wind-powered vehicle out of reusable materials. They test their device on a mini Sharks-themed rink, trying to cross certain points to make a "scoreboard" react in fun ways. The engineering design challenge teaches guests about friction, weight distribution and the importance of material selection. Iteration is a crucial part of the innovation process, and visitors are encouraged to adjust their designs and retest.
"SAP is proud to support a local program that engages bright young minds, inspires creative thinking and helps them develop skills in STEM," said John McGee, Managing Director, West Market Unit, SAP North America. "Even better, they'll get to design and test their big ideas in a fun environment with their families."
Nearly half a million visitors to The Tech every year learn about robotics, bioengineering, anatomy, immersive AR/VR media, cyber security, the engineering design process, and how to creatively solve problems using technology. The Tech also offers free field trips for Title I schools, bringing 25,000 underserved students to the museum each year for an experience dedicated to STEM learning, including hands-on science labs.
"Our mission is to inspire the innovator in everyone and we are fortunate to have the Sharks Foundation and SAP on our team," said Katie Ozawa, STEM Experience Developer at The Tech. "We believe in everyone's potential to use technology to solve big problems and love seeing families learn together."
The Innovation on Ice: Zamboni® Design Challenge will run daily March 1 through March 17, then join a rotation of programming at The Tech. The challenge is one of several sports-themed tech and engineering activities this partnership makes possible. In another activity, students learn about physics while experimenting with different materials to build a faster ice skate.
