2019 Academic Day – Long Drop Challenge

November 28, 2019

The STEM Education teachers of ACEP Secondary were delighted to host a competition as part of 2019 ACEP Academic Day entitled “The Long Drop Challenge”. Eight teams from St. Gabriel Foundation schools gathered to showcase their problem-solving, engineering and construction skills for a challenge they knew few details of until the competition began.

Each team was given an identical set of construction materials including paper, cardboard, tape and string. With these materials, they were required to construct an aircraft that would carry a 25-satang coin as slowly as possible from the ceiling to the ground. The aircraft that stayed in the air for the longest time would win its constructors first prize.

After receiving their instructions, the teams had only one hour to design, build, and test their creations, which were required to include a loop from which they could be suspended by a hook, remotely operated by the STEM teachers and rotated to drop the aircraft after being hoisted from the highest ceiling available.

The teams displayed an impressive level of creativity and engineering savvy, with some teams constructing parachutes of several levels that suspended their precious coin cargo low in order to stay upright. Other teams opted to maximize surface area using sheets of paper, their aircraft shimmying and teasing the ground as they finally descended.

In the end, the competition was fierce, with the difference between teams measured in fractions of a second, as measured by analysing high-definition footage using video analysis software.

All of the teams displayed impressive sportsmanship and grace through the competition, and it appeared that they enjoyed themselves – as did the STEM teachers, who look forward to repeating this success with another mystery competition at next year’s Academic Day. They would also like to thank all of the students and staff who attended, competed, and helped conduct this year’s event.

Winners:

• 1st Place: Vachiravit Prechaakkharaphat, Suriya Chaubey, and Adis Udul (teacher: Ms Lalit Manyanont), Assumption Samutprakarn
• 2nd Place: Kamolchanok Janchitranun, Pitchayapa Luengrattanamas, and Chayakorn Chaihiranwatana (teacher: Mr. Tristian Warren Singh)
• 3rd Place: Kawin Thimayom, Intouch Wongrung, and Pannavich Siriteerametharat (teacher: Ms. Onwaranun Thodsanit), Assumption College

Text by Mr. Andrei Androsoff