13th Annual “TAKEOFF” Program a Big Success

The winning group was group number 24, which scored a perfect 120 points. The winning group, with students, teacher and mentor were as follows.

The Tech Center has sponsored this annual event for the past 13 years, in partnership with the William Davies Middle School located in Hamilton Township. Aviation Education Manager, Mary Lou Dordan, and Community Outreach Counselor, Barbara Harris-Para, coordinate this event each year along with Flight Group Manager, Armando Gaetano.

TAKEOFF stands for “Technology Aviation for Kids/Engineering of Future Flights.” Recognizing that the Technical Center has the needed mentorship for a program of this magnitude, Vic Hudson of the William Davies Middle School, Armando Gaetano and others decided that this partnership could lead to the exposure needed to get kids interested in engineering careers. Through the years, many students have participated in the program and have pursued careers in engineering. At present, an informal survey is being conducted to see just how many students have gone into related career fields from this program.

This year more than 172 seventh to twelfth grade students participated from 23 school districts. . The team used over 23 individuals who work here as mentors, judges, or just subject matter experts from the Tech Center. One of the highlights of the day was a demonstration from the United States Coast Guard Station. A basket demo was performed as well as a discussion with the students and members of the helicopter team.

Here is a list of the winning group, with students, teacher and mentor. Group 24, which scored 120 points, was the winner.

Teams of students are assembled, and each team has a total time of five hours to complete three out of six projects, or “challenges,” and then demonstrate and document the success of their team in competing the projects.

The day went by quickly, and it is soon show time for the students. The judges have their scores developed and they are announced to the crowd. The results are easy to predict as the winners usually stand out from the pack.