As reported by: Varun Murali [Mec '08]
The TECHNICAL ACTIVITY CENTRE (TAC), I.T. – B.H.U. organized its first major event of the new academic session in the form of workshops for first yearites. The workshops which had been delayed due to scheduling problems had to be rescheduled one final time as it clashed with Janmashtami celebrations.
But finally, when it did get underway, the enthusiasm of the students was a sight to behold. Attended by a record 250 odd students, the workshop finally kicked off on the morning of the 27th of August. Day 1 was meant for MOTORBOATS in which students were provided junk, motors and batteries and were asked to design a motorboat which would move in a straight line. Buoyancy forces and viscous drags were so thoroughly disseminated that it would have made Archimedes and Newton proud. After 5-6 hours of slogging, the end product was nothing short of scintillating. The ingenuity in design was there for all to see as the shapes ranged from that of a ‘rocket’ to that of ‘batman’. But,it wasn’t only about artistry after all. That they had applied the principles of science was reflected in the way almost all the 60 boats (students were grouped in teams of 4) moved in straight lines. But , the standout fact was the single-mindedness and determination of the students. Imagine going 7 hours at a stretch without any food and water!
Day 2 was about STRAWBRIDGES , in which students were asked to design bridges out of straws which could sustain as much weight as possible . And , if one thought that the day before was too tiring to bother to turn up, the increase in the number of participants made one wonder if anything in the world could sap these students. Buoyancy forces gave way to trusses and suspensions. An innovation, strawbridge might have been, but what came out , surely would have put even some professional designers to shame. It all ended with the students asking for more and TAC,by the look of things, intends to provide it.
TAC , which has now become official (institute affiliated), made presentations to the students as to its past achievements , future objectives besides presentations related to the workshop. Group mentors (mainly 2nd yearites who were TAC members) were present to help out the various groups. TAC, in order to achieve its objective of getting bigger and better, will shortly be conducting workshops in other schools and colleges, as it has been doing before.
Coming soon to the TAC center near you: workshops on aero-modeling, robotics, microcontrollers, mouse-problem and much more