February 21, 2007

“Design Squad” Makes Its West Texas Television Premier

More than 600 elementary and middle school students from across West Texas joined Texas Tech engineering students at the Science Spectrum Feb. 21 for the local premier of “Design Squad”—a new engineering reality TV show on PBS.

The free event, open to fourth through eighth grade students, was the South Plains’ first look at the reality-based TV show that challenges teams of students to solve real-world engineering problems. Area students got a sneak-peek at the first episode of “Design Squad” and designed their own solutions to engineering challenges adapted from the show.

“Design Squad” follows eight high school students as they compete to design and build fantastic, zany, fully operational engineering projects. Projects include everything from a machine that automatically makes pancakes to a motorized red wagon that can reach speeds up to 20 mph. In the final episode, the two top-scorers battle for the grand prize – a $10,000 college scholarship provided by the Intel Foundation.