With a name like the “Climbing Tower Extravaganza,” it’s a lock the children at Frazier Elementary School in Dayton, Tennessee, will surely enjoy their new activity center built by a group of UTC engineering students.
The students designed and constructed a play space to assist students with disabilities in developing their gross and fine motor skills.
“After going through several design concepts, we decided to build a tower. It would offer the kids a challenge, but still be fun,” UTC student Nick Baetman said.
The tower is six-feet tall with a rock wall, a dry-erase board, and a cargo net. It took the group sixteen hours to build their project, often working around other obligations like studying and part-time jobs. The team included six students majoring in various engineering disciplines.
“It took a lot of time to get us all together and finish the project. We had several late nights. But in the end, it worked out.,” Baetman said.
“We didn’t end up killing each other, which was good,” Jerry Maitland, another group member, joked.
“Working with each other’s schedules was difficult, but it’s better to have more people on your team. You get more ideas during the brainstorming process and it’s easier to solve any problems that come up,” Maitland continued.
Team members were Patrick Pattamamoleenak, Nick Baetman, Bradley Martin, Josh Eahard, Jerry Maitland, and Taylor Craig.
