Scattered among ancient dinosaur bones, Saturn's gaseous rings and the amateur's guide to windsurfing, were 11 information-filled exhibits from the UB Department of Engineering at the Buffalo Museum of Science Sunday afternoon.
The event kicked off the 2004 National Engineers Week, a week designed to celebrate all the different disciplines engineering has to offer.
"We started preliminary planning around September, and then in January was when we actually got most of the events coordinated," said Malati Patil, the engineering clubs' coordinator for the week's events.
According to Patil, the display was a great way for the various clubs within the department to come out and do some community service and showcase projects they've been working on throughout the year.
The community response was evident in the large number of small children running wild throughout the museum, hopping from one exhibit to the next.
"We like to keep the kids interested," said senior engineering student Peter Jay. "Little kids like ice cream."
The Chemical Engineering Group used ice cream to entice potential young engineers, with their sweet liquid nitrogen, milk and sugar mix that froze upon contact.
According to senior Mike Dray, president of the group, hands-on exhibits allow young people to see engineering at work, and presenters can use kids' interest as a jumping point to explain the technical aspects.
Frank Centinello, senior engineering student and president of the Aeronautics and Astronautic club, said there are always a few particularly promising participants.
"The little kids generally love making the (paper) airplanes, but you generally only get one or two who really love this stuff and they ask lots of questions. That's how I was," said Centinello.
The kids weren't the only ones who got a kick out of the exhibits.
"For me it's looking and learning, but for my daughter, she likes the hands-on stuff," said father and work place consultant Richard Satterwhite of Buffalo. "Everything here is really exciting and to have this (artificial intelligence) demonstrated now is amazing. I wish I had this when I was a kid."
When UB Robotics showcased its robotic soccer goal-scoring prototype, eight-year-old Matthew Held of Buffalo could hardly contain his excitement. He fired question upon question, even posing one about much one of the robots cost so he could ask his mother to buy it.
"My oldest children, as well as Matt, are into building and are geared toward the field," said Audrey Held, Matthew's mother. "We are unfamiliar with the different individual disciplines, so it's nice to get educated on the different areas."
The UB Chapter of Mechanical Engineers displayed their Single Rider unit, a variation on the traditional bicycle where the operator takes a Superman-like pose in order to operate the bike using both his hands and feet to generate momentum.
"It can go as fast as 25 miles per hour," said vice president of the group, junior Justin Frascino.
Other groups involved included the Society of Women Engineers, the Electrical and Electronic Engineers Group, the Society of Automotive Engineers, and the Industrial Engineers Group, all of whom showcased from the most technically advanced to the most primary concepts of their specific fields.
More events are slated to take place throughout the week in the Student Union. In past years, one of the most well attended events has been BotWars, which will take place from noon to 2 p.m. on Thursday.
According to Nitin Mistry, president of the Electrical and Electronic Engineers Group, the events have benefits for parents and children alike.
"This event is great because we are trying to help the parents out by giving them information for those trying to break into the field, and showing the kids the fun of engineering - that is until they get to the math part of it," Mistry said.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
