Mine is building props for my daughter's colorguard team.
I have a BSME and was a machine design engineer for 16 years, designing $.5 million or more machine tools used to manufacture bearings. My current job (which I've been in for the the past 15+ years) doesn't really require the same "hardcore" engineering knowledge that my old job did. That doesn't mean I don't still have a chance to practice it though; it's just in a less traditional place. Both of my daughters have participated on their school's varsity winterguard team. For those who don't know, winterguard is referred to as "The Sport of the Arts" and is performed indoors in gymnasiums during the winter months. It combines flag, sabre and rifle spinning with dance and gymnastics correographed to recorded music and performed on a painted tarp on a gym floor. it is a competitive sport, with judged scores similar to what you see with competitive ice skating and diving.
Another element (as I soon found out after my daughters joined the team) is props. Some teams don't have a lot of props, but our director loves them. The teams have 8-10 minutes (depending on what class they are in) to setup their tarp, props and equipment, perform, and break everything down and get off the floor.
Here are the requirements for all of the props we build:
- We only have 2 1/2 to 3 minutes to setup and breakdown the props - that's total time for both, so roughly 1 1/2 minutes on each end of the performance. If we go over the time limit, there is a .1 point penalty for every 3 seconds.
- Because they perform in high school gyms, the props need to fit through a standard 36" doorway. Sometimes we have double doors, but we can't count on it.
- The prop may be required to support the weight of several performers who are spinning on top of them at the same time.
- Props must be setup and taken down by the parents (finding parents to volunteer is sometimes an issue. We usually have 10-12 parents.
- Because they are paid for by parents and fund raising, cost is also an issue.
- We usually have 2 months or less to plan, design, order materials and build. Tweaking goes on for the remainder of the season.
- Props need to be able to fit in the storage space available (this year that's a 24' box truck and the unused shower in the girl's locker room (did you know kids don't shower after gym class anymore?).
Of course the props are never just 36" in width. Here are some of the things we've been asked (told) by our director to design and build over the past couple of years (and saying "no" or "we can't do that" doesn't seem to be an option).
- There was a gorilla hand painted on the floor (about 40 feet long), and we needed to make it look like the fingers were coming up through the floor. The index finger alone was 13 feet tall.
- We needed to make a 36' diameter "conference" table that had a 30' diameter hole in the middle of it. This needed to support the weight of several performers at a time.
- We were asked to make a full-scale replica of the jungle gym from the movie the Birds. This needed to be on wheels because the kids moved it during the performance, and support up to 16 kids performers at a time. The jungle gym ended up being 15' long by 12' tall when fully assembled.
- For the same show that needed the jungle gym, we needed 5 "shower" props (you probably guessed it was a Hitchcock theme). No running water (we've done that in the past, however), but they were 8' tall by 6' diameter and needed to be backlit with spotlights for each shower that were battery operated and turned on and off by remote control.
- This year we were tasked with creating a 43' long bridge that had three gaps in it big enough for performers to walk through. Also, it needs to support the weight of several performers on top of it at the same time. Because it is over 6' tall (77" to be exact to the) it required a safety guard rail, per WGI rules. We also needed to create 5 columns to hide the gaps in the bridge and to hide the kids as they climb up and down it. Also, the kids needed to be able to hand upside down underneath it from their knees (all 16 of them, and yes, they're bats in the show). There are other requirements too detailed to mention as well.
Here are a couple of pictures of the 36' diameter table, the 8' tall backlit showers, the jungle gym (same year and show as the showers) and the bridge.
Remember we have to deal with all of the parameters listed above. All of these props fit through a 36" wide door, can be setup and broken down in under 3 minutes total time (1 1/2 min. to setup and 1 1/2 min to break down), support the weight of several performers, fit in our storage space and are affordable on our budget ($3000-$4000 max).
So this is how I use my engineering education these days. It's fun, challenging, and keeps me involved in my daughters' activity. How do you use your engineering degree for non-work activities or hobbies?
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