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Construct I Can: Middle School Activity

News story about Tonica Junior High students, March 2009

Construct - I Can is an engineering design exercise in which teams of students build structures from food cans and boxes. The food is later donated to a food pantry.

The exercise is designed to provide students with a hands-on exercise in engineering technology and in the teamwork typical of the engineering field.

Tonica School 7th and 8th grade students, March 2009

This suspension bridge, under construction above and completed at the right, included a ferry and tower when the student team was finished.

The structure at left and below, a house with porch in back and pool in front (complete with diving board and slide) included a family -- mom, dad and two children -- inside.

Taking on a precarious task, a student works on the base of the rocket.

The rocket, above, topped out at over five feet, the tallest structure built by the students from Tonica.

The designers of the peace sign, at left, took a prize for teamwork. The great castle, middle, featured a large-span roof. The bench, at right, won a prize for structural integrity.

This house featured a large drive through area in the front

The Executive Director of the Illinois Valley Food Pantry, which received the cans and boxes of food after the event, attended the Tonica Construct - I Can.

The "diamond" above included both a ground and a wall structure.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT CONSTRUCT I CAN, contact:

Principal Investigator Dorene Perez, Program Coordinator of CAD/CAE, Email: dorene_perez@ivcc.edu

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MIDDLE SCHOOL ACTIVITIES, contact:

Co-Principal Investigator Sue Caley Opsal, Anatomy and Physiology Instructor, Email: sue_caley@ivcc.edu

Illinois Valley Community College
815 North Orlando Smith Avenue
Oglesby, IL 61348
PHONE: 815-224-2720
FAX: 815-224-3033

The structure at left and below, a house with porch in back and pool in front (complete with diving board and slide) included a family -- mom, dad and two children -- inside.		Taking on a precarious task, a student works on the base of the rocket.
	The rocket, above, topped out at over five feet, the tallest structure built by the students from Tonica.

The designers of the peace sign, at left, took a prize for teamwork. The great castle, middle, featured a large-span roof. The bench, at right, won a prize for structural integrity.


This house featured a large drive through area in the front	The Executive Director of the Illinois Valley Food Pantry, which received the cans and boxes of food after the event, attended the Tonica Construct - I Can.	The "diamond" above included both a ground and a wall structure.