Programs like the Fluid Power Action Challenge are made possible in part by the generous support of industry volunteers as well as NFPA Education and Technology Foundation and Pascal Society donors. Support these efforts by making a donation.
FORCE America reached a new Challenge Champion milestone earlier this year and celebrated five years of facilitating the NFPA Fluid Power Action Challenge hosted at Alexandria Technical and Community College in Minnesota. Each year, this design and build competition introduces middle school students to hydraulics, pneumatics, engineering and careers in the fluid power industry. New this year, they made arrangements for 74 students to tour FORCE America and several other local manufacturing facilities so that the teams could connect the concepts they learned on Workshop Day with real world applications.
On Challenge Day, the 19 teams returned to Alex Tech to compete against their peers. Teams were evaluated on their portfolio, design and teamwork. As the teams built their devices, judges observed the teams and interviewed students, asking them about how they came up with their design and how they work together as a team. When the time was up, the teams all gathered together and put their machines to the test.
Many thanks and congratulations to FORCE America and this year’s event sponsors, Alexandria Technical & Community College, Braas, Power Systems, and SMC for putting on a successful event.
To learn more or get involved with the Fluid Power Action Challenge, contact Stephanie Scaccianoce at sscaccianoce@nfpa.com.
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