Assistant Dean of Students Cynthia Smith said, "The raft rally is to get the student teams engaged in solving a problem and constructing a boat that is able to hold weight and they're competing to see how much weight the boat can hold."

The goal is to create a raft from two pieces of aluminum foil and four plastic straws, but this is more than just another activity.

Students take part in Raft Rally

Members of the ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp paid a visit to local middle school students at the RPI campus. The idea is to stress the importance of science and engineering, and today this is all done through a little project they call the Raft Rally.

Sparking a student's interest in science and technology is important now more than ever. According to a congressional study, by the year 2010 there'll be a shortage of more than 500,000 trained workers in this field alone.

Smith said, "They get to begin to solve problems, to build things, to learn about things they can build upon so that by the time they get into high school they are prepared to go off to college and become the country's next scientists and engineers."

The summer science camp also offers other advantages for the students.

Harris said, "The kids get a chance to go to various museums to participate in activities that they may not have. A lot of kids come from the inner city and have never been on a college campus."

And what about the rafts? Well, they were well-constructed, one oven holding up to 100 pennies before taking the plunge. A good time, but also an opportunity to support education, health, and wealth, or to put it another way...

Harris said, "It is a fun, exciting camp in which they get to prepare for their future."

And getting down to a science.