Forget "MacGyver."

Give these students a few materials, and they can build a solar-powered vehicle.

A group of engineering students from Hempfield High School won "Best Design" in the Project Lead the Way Design Challenge recently.

"I could not be more proud of the way that they performed!" wrote their  Introduction to Engineering Design teacher Reed Boring in an e-mail.

Boring was saluting Hempfield team members Evan Geesey, Stuart Helgeson, Caitlin Conway, Patrick French and Patrick McMinn.

In all, 14 high schools from around the state participated — including McCaskey East High School in Lancaster.

In the Feb. 18 competition at the Goggleworks Center for the Arts in Reading, students were given a small solar panel, motor, wheels and axles, balsa wood, Styrofoam and other everyday materials.

They designed a solar-powered vehicle, delivered a timed presentation, and then demonstrated their vehicle.

The results were judged by a group of engineers from Carpenter Technology, a manufacturer and distributor of specialty alloys located in Reading.

Three additional awards were given to state high schools for best overall solution, best presentation and best teamwork.

Manheim Township High School and the Lancaster Career & Technology Center in Mount Joy also teach engineering courses from the Project Lead the Way program, but they did not participate in the competition.

Project Lead the Way is a national not-for-profit organization that promotes pre-engineering courses for middle and high school students.

Students earn credits that can be transferred to many colleges and universities.

The courses are equivalent to what a college freshman would study in Penn State University's engineering technology program, said Tom Weiss, affiliate director of Project Lead the Way at Penn State Berks.

Hempfield added Project Lead the Way engineering courses this school year.

"Partnering with Project Lead The Way was clearly the right decision for Hempfield," Boring said. "Almost 120 students signed up for this new course."

In the competition, students used skills from the first two Project Lead the Way Foundation Courses: Introduction to Engineering Design and Principles of Engineering.

"The only thing students are working towards is an 8-by-10 plaque, bragging rights, and the chance to use what they are learning in school," Weiss said.


Staff writer Robyn Meadows can be reached at rmeadows@LNPnews.com or 481-6025.