Kinney Construction Services (KCS) and Peak Engineering led a tour of the Fort Tuthill construction project for Gretchen Downey's 8th grade classes. KCS worked with one of the classes in the Middle School Institute of Technology and Engineering (MITe) at Sinagua Middle School through the Scientists in the Classroom program founded by Jillian Worssam for the entire 2016-2017 school year. (See previous blog post here.) KCS management and employees attended Downey's class once each month and walked the engineering students through all the steps of a construction project in a logical progression through the year. Civil engineers Julie Leid and Michael Bechtel from Peak Engineering also presented at one class and assisted on the culminating field trip to Fort Tuthill. This project entails extensive improvements to the four-acre Fort Tuthill fairgrounds with the goals of better showcasing the original historic buildings and reinvigorating the space to better suit events and performances on a year-round basis. The scope is based on a detailed Master Plan and includes repairing and replacing failing water and wastewater pipelines, adding trees and landscaping, and creating seating areas and more inviting pedestrian spaces. KCS Marketing Specialist Katie Colombini made a quiz on the history of Fort Tuthill: See how well you do! Correct Answers are below the last photo. No Cheating! 1. Fort Tuthill is named after which of the following: A. A permanent army post located in Arizona. B. The Pima and Maricopa Indian tribes. C. General Alexander M. Tuthill. D. Teddy Roosevelt’s dog. 2. Which of the following statements regarding Fort Tuthill is false: A. It was constructed in 1929. B. It was considered one of the finest National Guard training facilities in the U.S. C. It served as the annual field-training site for the 158th Infantry Regiment Arizona National Guard from 1929 to 1937, again in 1939, and for the last time in 1948. D. It was once over run with really aggressive squirrels. E. None of the above – all of the statements are true. 3. The 158th Infantry regiment traces its origin to: A. The First Regiment of Arizona Volunteers organized in 1865. B. The Pima and Maricopa Indian tribes C. The First Arizona Infantry D. Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders. 4. General Tuthill’s military career began when he: A. Enlisted in a cavalry troop of the California National Guard. B. Organized and commanded, as a Captain, the 2nd Cavalry Troop C. Was promoted to Colonel commanding the 1st Arizona Infantry D. First started fighting with his brother as a child 5. The distinctive shoulder patch of the 158th Regimental Combat Team depicting the Bushmaster snake coiled around a jungle machete evolved from: A. The team’s jungle warfare training experience in Panama in 1941. B. The captain’s weird obsession with snakes and machetes. C. The 158th being selected as Honor Guard for President Woodrow Wilson during the Paris Peace Conference. D. The Regimental Band was also designated as the President's Honor Band. E. None of the above. 6. The 158th served five and one-half years on active duty and was: A. Continuously in a combat zone longer then any National Guard unit in all U.S. wars. B. The first Army unit to be trained in jungle warfare establishing the first Jungle Warfare School. C. The first Army unit to be sent overseas after Peal Harbor. D. The organization that traveled further in their 5 ½ years of active duty than any Army unit in any war. E. All of the above. 7. From 1929 to 1937, again in 1939, and for the last time in 1948 the regiment trained at its permanent field-training site located at which of the following sites: A. Fort Tuthill outside Flagstaff Arizona. B. Fort Sill in Oklahoma C. Camp Barkley in Texas D. All of the above because the regiment did not have a permanent training site. 8. All of the following statements about General Tuthill are true EXCEPT: A. In civilian life he was a distinguished and innovative surgeon credited with pioneering the use of foreign material in bone surgery. B. In the early 1900’s, while chief surgeon for the Detroit Mining Company Hospital in Morenci Arizona, he used silver plates and screws crafted by an Indian silversmith to secure the bones of a badly fractured leg. He later used a similar silver plate to close a large opening in a patient’s skull. This is believed to be the first recorded use of metal plates in a surgical procedure. C. He was a member of Arizona’s Constitutional Convention, D. On his return from WW I service, he established a private medical practice in Phoenix. E. He retired in 1952 at the age of 81. F. He served as State superintendent of Public Health from 1921 to 1923, G. The General’s decorations and awards included the 1st Arizona Medal of Honor ever awarded and the United States Medal for Merit awarded by President Harry S. Truman. H. None of the above – all of the statements are true. 9. Did you know?? All of the following statements are true EXCEPT: A. Fort Tuthill Museum attendance has grown by 750% from the 2005 opening to 2016. B. In 1934 machine gun mounted ferry boats manned by soldiers of the 158th Infantry patrolled the Colorado River in a dispute with California over water rights. C. 100% of Fort Tuthill Military Museum's funding is from donations. D. Fort Tuthill has been visited by every living U.S. President. Answers: 1.c, 2.e, 3.a, 4.a, 5.a, 6.e, 7.a., 8.h, 9.d
Thank you KCS and Peak Engineering for your contributions to the Scientists in the Classroom program! Thank you to Science Foundation Arizona for funding the transportation for this field trip through the SFAZ+8: Building Capacity for STEM Pathways in Rural Arizona grant from the National Science Foundation.
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Guest Blog Post by Karin Wadsack and Todd Traen, with an update from Jenna Samora On Friday, April 28th, nearly 100 middle and high school students competed in the first Arizona KidWind Challenge wind turbine design competition. 20 teams of students came from Sinagua Middle School, Mount Elden Middle School, STAR School, Winslow High, Coconino High, and Northland Preparatory Academy. The teams brought a wind turbine they had designed and built ahead of time to test in a wind tunnel, determining whose turbine made the most electricity over a 30-second test period. The teams also competed based on their turbine design, technical presentation, technical design knowledge, and general wind energy knowledge. The teams each met with a group of judges from the wind industry, giving a presentation about their project and answering specific design and knowledge questions. The teams also competed in “instant challenges,” building sail cars, windmills for weight lifting, and playing wind energy Jeopardy. Throughout the day, students got to interact with other students from different schools and grade levels, and explain their own projects to peers, teachers, coaches, and visiting guests.Turbines at the competition included vertical and horizontal axis turbines, systems with and without gears, and some turbines for which the students had wound their own generators. Frequently heard: “This is AWESOME!” “Check out that design!” “I’m having SO MUCH fun!” “Next year we’re going to do _____!” The Wind for Schools project staff of eight was supported by an additional eight amazing volunteers from the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals and the Climate Science and Solutions professional master’s program at NAU. The Expert Judges also volunteered their day to the event. The Boys & Girls Club of Flagstaff generously donated its facilities for the day. Update from Jenna Samora on the MITe Team's trip to Nationals: The Mustang Gust Runners ended up taking 1st in the Vertical Axis Insta-Challenge, but did not score high on the original wind turbine design. After the first competition in Flagstaff, the students 3D-printed their own gears and created their own generator. However, they were unable to get the energy output that they hoped for, so they went back to using the KidWind generator. Even through their turbine was not the best design, the boys still learned a lot and had a great time! Thank you to our dedicated judges! Ross Taylor, Wind Subject Matter Expert Ken Kotalik, Primus Wind Power Jim Corning, Prometheus Renewables Daniel Snyder, Westwind Solar Inc Darrin Russell, Wind Subject Matter Expert Mira is a Flagstaff native who has recently moved back after being away for 14 years. She says she is happy to be back and to live and work in the community that she grew up in. Through her life experiences she has become passionate about living a zero waste lifestyle, playing in rivers, exploring canyons, dancing, practicing permaculture, getting her hands into soil, traveling anywhere often, reading anything and enjoying sunshine.
She is currently serving as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer with the Flagstaff STEM Education VISTA project by working with NAU's First Year Seminar Action Learning Teams. She works alongside NAU freshmen, professors, and community organizations to foster connections between NAU and the community through social justice oriented projects. She is excited to be a part of building these community connections and projects this year. |