This year’s TSA (Technology Student Association) statewide competition, Tech-nosphere, was inducted virtually due to the pandemic. Students turned in their projects either by submitting them electronically or by mailing them to designated locations.
The Structural Engineering event was hosted by a Richmond VDOT office. The students had to design and construct a basswood tower that met specific design requirements. That tower was judged on its quality and then destructively tested for its strength. Hailey Bruce placed first in this event.
This year’s dragster event was hosted at St. Clare Walker Middle School and run by the school TSA Advisor Matthew Short. Pressurized carbon dioxide-powered dragsters from all over the state were delivered to SCW, where they were judged to see which dragster had the best design and construction. The dragsters were raced down a 20-meter track to see which had the fastest elapsed time.
St. Clare Walker students swept the top three places out of 17 dragsters entered in the competition. Andrew Harrow’s dragster had an elapsed time of 1.142 seconds and won first place overall. Abel Crader’s dragster had an elapsed time of 1.147 seconds and placed second overall. Aiden Major’s dragster had an elapsed time of 1.150 seconds and placed third overall.
