First-year Penn State Abington engineering majors tested boats they built recently for a required cornerstone design course using cardboard, thin plastic sheeting, and duct tape to transport one adult across a local pool.  

The brainchild of David Brown, a licensed professional engineer and lecturer in the program, the Cardboard Regatta featured teams of students who collaborated to design a boat that would keep one of their teammates dry while paddling a lap at the Willow Grove YMCA.  

“The project’s goals were for students to learn about the engineering process and rapid prototyping,” said Brown. “They had to design and build three progressively larger boats, find out what worked and what didn’t, and then improve it. It’s the basis of the engineering process. They learned about teamwork, scheduling, documentation, experimentation, and data collection.”

During the five-week process, the teams tested the first iteration of their boats, which carried two pounds of weight, in the duck pond on Abington’s campus. They then modified their designs and scaled them up to carry 20 pounds before taking two weeks for the full-size build that they tested at the pool. 

A required design course for first-year engineering students culminated in the Cardboard Regatta. Students developed fundamentals such as hands-on design and technical skills as they worked on teams to build a boat strong enough to support an adult using only cardboard and plastic sheeting.

When they arrived at the YMCA, Brown weighed the rider, the boat, and the paddle for each team. Then, the captain of each team headed into the pool, accompanied by shouts of encouragement from their teammates and the curious stares of retirees and others who were swimming nearby and peering down from an elevated track. 

The students, overall, were pleased with their results and happy that there were no catastrophic failures — in other words, none of the boats sunk, and no one went overboard. 

“It was a really hard project, but I am so happy our boat worked,” said Amina Reid, one of the participating students. “We had to problem-solve our way through it because we started with a different design, and we kept working with each other to get it right,”

Brown graded the teams based on the complete process and not just whether the boats kept the sailors dry. It was not a race, so the amount of time it took to complete the lap was irrelevant.

“I offered bonus points to the students who built the lightest boat to encourage them to push their limits and compete with each other,” said Brown. “They were rewarded for taking risks, pushing boundaries, and trying to find the sweet spot.” 

Student Damian Santiago and his team occasionally endured turbulence trying to complete the project successfully. 

“We had to try different prototypes to bring this to fruition, but the collaboration for problem-solving made it much better to deal with,” he said. 

Tyler Jones agreed that working in a group was crucial to a good outcome. 

“I learned so much about project management from this experience, how to plan, and the trials and tribulations of taking on a challenge like this,” he said. 

Twelve boats were launched, with most measuring about five feet long. One was designed like a pontoon while another resembled a raft. Some of the students scribbled “This isn’t the Titanic” and “Your feet go here” with arrows in black marker on the inside of their craft. 

Brown emphasized that the EDSGN100 engineering design course “welcomes first-year students into the world of engineering.” 

“This class gives them hands-on design projects to develop while building their technical knowledge. It teaches them fundamentals like group work, 3D modeling, and presentation skills. We set them up for long-term success with the fundamentals of the engineering practice, mindset, and ethics,” he said.  

Brown began teaching at Abington this semester, and as he switched gears from more than two decades as a structural engineer to a college instructor, the Cardboard Regatta proved to be an impactful experience for his students

“I wanted this project to be engaging and fun while reinforcing the course content. The students loved building, testing, and using their creativity,” he said. 

Learn more about the Penn State Abington engineering program, as well as how it provides an affordable, accessible, and high-impact education resulting in the success of a diverse student body.