UWM Hosts Zoo Train students, lets them break things

Pete Reynolds Initiatives, Zoo Train January 25, 2019January 28, 2019Franklin, UWM

On Thursday UWM’s College of Engineering and Applied Sciences hosted the first of three sessions for students in our Zoo Train challenge. We met in the College’s new maker space where students from Franklin High School used short lengths of lath to assemble beams of various configurations. With these in hand, students went from there to the structural testing lab where UWM faculty had students estimate the maximum load their beam design could support. Each design was tested to the point of failure.

For round two, students went back to the maker space to design and assemble a five foot high tower from angle irons. That tower was put under load in a different device to measure deflection. The maximum load there was capped at twice the load the Zoo’s water tower needs to support.

UWM will host two more sessions to accomodate students from other schools. Thanks to the UWM team who made this happen: Chris Beimborn, Andrew Dressel, and Rahim Reshadi, and Avie Judes.

Zoo Train Challenge – Conceptual Design Review

Pete Reynolds Initiatives, Zoo Train December 14, 2018December 14, 2018CSR, MSOE, Zoo Train

Teams participating in our challenge to design a replacement for the wooden water tower that services the Zoo’s steam locomotives presented their concepts at MSOE on Monday. We have more than 65 students involved, representing ten teams from six high schools. Given the number of students involved, we ran parallel sessions for the reviews, with each team presenting before a panel that included civil engineers from Excel and MSOE, experts in railroad history from The Center for Railway Photography & Art and the Coalition for Sustainable Rail (our partner in this effort), and the staff which maintain and operate the Zoo’s train.

We asked teams to cover, not only their designs, but how they organized their efforts, alternatives they considered, and where they need additional help. Students from Elmbrook’s media program stepped up to record all of the presentations for students and teachers to review.

After a short break for lunch we pulled everyone back together for a recap session with all of the reviewers. That provided an opportunity for the panelists to summarize what they saw in their session within a few broad themes. One of the most interesting things for us was to see the different ways schools with larger groups organized their teams– by functional area of the tower, expertise of the team, member, or into smaller teams who would each produce a design concept. We used the recap session to engage students and teachers in a discussion of how that worked and what it felt like over the course of the semester.

We’re pulling the teachers together next week for a debrief to guide adjustments we’ll want to make as we go into the detailed design phase next semester. That work will begin and end with visits to UWM– first, for a chance to play in UWM’s structures lab, and, on May 2nd, for the detailed design review where the review panelists will select an approach to be fabricated and installed.

We are very grateful to MSOE for hosting the event and working with us to get everything in place. They provided a beautiful setting with the 4th floor conference area inside the Grohmann Tower.

The Journal Sentinel was also on hand to cover the event. You can find their write up here.

MSOE Hosts Workshop for Zoo Train Challenge

Pete Reynolds Zoo Train October 20, 2018December 10, 2018MSOE

MSOE played host to students participating in our Zoo Train Challenge for a workshop on structural considerations for water towers. To accommodate all of the teams in a format that allowed students a chance to discuss design concerns, MSOE ran sessions on Thursday and Friday this week. MSOE faculty provided a quick overview of several factors the students ought to consider. Following the presentation, MSOE engineering students joined the faculty in responding to student questions.

Zoo Train Challenge Kick-off

Pete Reynolds Blog, Zoo Train September 25, 2018December 10, 2018CSR, Milwaukee County Zoo

Our Zoo Train challenge kicked off this morning with close to 70 students from 6 area high schools meeting at the Zoo. This year students are taking on the design of a replacement for the wooden water tower that services the Zoo’s steam locomotives. The tower has been in place since the train was first installed at the Zoo 60 years ago. At that time it was positioned between the two sets of tracks that run past the station. When safety requirements dictated four feet of clearance between the train and the tower it was moved to its present location, near the gate where riders exit.

On hand for the event were Davidson Ward, from the Coalition for Sustainable Rail (CSR), and Ken Ristow, who has worked as an engineer for the Zoo train for the past 20 years. Davidson provided background on CSR’s bio-fuel testing at the Zoo. CSR is working with the University of Minnesota to develop a fuel to replace coal for recreational steam railways like the Zoo’s. Ken was able to address what it’s like to work with the current water tower, where they’ve had to make do, and what they’d like to see improved. That includes the educational display which currently stands near the water tower.

Student teams had been given a set of guidelines for the project at the start of the semester, so they came well prepared with questions for us, CSR, and Zoo staff.

Design Thinking Workshop at Briggs & Stratton

Pete Reynolds Experiments, Zoo Train September 12, 2018December 5, 2018Briggs & Stratton

We were delighted to have Briggs & Stratton’s Concept Team host a design thinking workshop for students engaged in our Zoo Train Challenge. The Briggs team took the students through a crash course in design thinking following the model developed at Stanford’s D School.

With that as background, students walked through a process to:

Understand the concerns of Zoo staff who interact with the water tower used to service the Zoo’s steam locomotives
Define a key problem that would be the focus of their efforts
Generate ideas for potential solutions
Create a prototype to demonstrate their concept.

Beyond sparking some initial thinking, the session served as a great chance for teachers leading student teams to connect around how they look to run the project.

The session wrapped up with a chance to explore some Briggs & Stratton designs in virtual reality and a great deal of pizza.

Coal Handling Virtual Design Review
May 8, 2020

Covid-19 threw a wrench in our plans for the final design review for students engaged in our Zoo Train Challenge. MSOE had planned to play host for the session, but as schools and universities first closed and then moved on-line we adjusted as well. As schools reopened for distance learning, five teams were able to continue work on the challenge to redesign the process used to store and load coal for the Zoo’s steam locomotives. In most cases, they were forced to do so without the resources and physical prototypes they had started to produce. On Wednesday, four teams were able to join a review session on Zoom where they presented their ideas to and took questions from a review panel representing the advisory team for the project. That group included industry professionals from We Energies, Kumatsu, County Materials, as well as faculty and staff from MSOE and UWM’s College of Engineering & Applied Science. While the virtual format was less than ideal, two things stood out across the presentations. All of the teams were able to leverage feedback and ideas from the conceptual design review UWM hosted in December to improve not just their designs, but their ability to talk through and communicate their design decisions. When asked by panelists about where they saw value in the experience, students consistently mentioned both the experience of figuring out how to work effectively as a team, and the opportunity to leverage and learn from outside experts. Congratulations are due to all of the teams involved in the project. Thanks are also due to their teachers. Nothing interesting happens in a classroom without a teacher willing to say yes. Their willingness to involve their students in an open ended project, coordinate student participation in project events, and help their colleagues at other schools with ideas on how to manage project teams is the key ingredient in efforts like this. Zoo Train Schools and Teachers Elmbrook Launch – Ryan Osterberg Golda Meir – Tina Gleason Menomonee Falls – Robert Regent-Smith New Berlin Eisenhower – Devin McKinnon New Berlin West – Bill Trudell Pathways High School – Angelique Byrne/Chris Kjaer St. Joan Antida – Cynthia McLinn/Melissa Peppler St. Thomas More – Emily Pirkl Wauwatosa East – Julibeth Favour West Allis Dottke – Bernie McCarthy
UWM Hosts Zoo Train Design Review
December 18, 2019

This past Friday, UWM’s College of Engineering hosted the conceptual design review for students in this year’s Zoo Train Challenge. Teams from 10 area schools presented their ideas to re-work the coal handling process for the Zoo’s steam locomotives. The Zoo’s current process has train staff manually sift coal into 17 gallon buckets that may weigh 80 to 90 pounds when full. These are then carried over an often slippery, uneven surface where they are staged for use later in the day. When the train stops at the depot to take on passengers, the train crew will hoist and dump these bucket’s into the train’s coal bin, which is close to four feet above ground level. The train team is also concerned with the deteriorating condition of the coal bin and a retaining wall against which coal ash and fines are stored prior to removal. New Berlin Eisenhower students present their design concepts. (UWM Photo/Elora Hennessey) At this point in the process, most teams focused on the design of a new coal bin that could keep the coal sheltered from rain, and automating or augmenting the process of sifting and loading coal. Teams presented their designs to review panels that included zoo train operators, staff from We Energies coal handing facility, students and faculty from industrial engineering programs at UWM and MSOE, and engineers with GZA Environmental and Komatsu. Following each presentation, teams responded to questions and feedback from both panelists and peers from other teams. Both panelists and students in the audience for other presentations also provide written feedback for each team. Golda Meir students provide feedback on presentation by their peers . (UWM Photo/Elora Hennessey) Students will use the feedback and ideas they gained from this session to finalize their designs. The final design review for the project will be hosted by MSOE at the end of April. Nothing interesting happens in a classroom without a teacher willing to say yes, so we are extremely grateful to the teachers who stepped up to get their students involved. Thanks also to all those who helped pull both the project and review session together, and of course, the students who have taken on the challenge! UWM has a brief write-up of the event here: https://uwm.edu/news/gallery/milwaukee-area-students-create-solutions-for-zoo-train/ Zoo train Schools and Teachers Elmbrook Launch – Ryan Osterberg Golda Meir – Tina Gleason Menomonee Falls – Robert Regent-Smith New Berlin Eisenhower – Devin McKinnon New Berlin West – Bill Trudell Pathways High School – Angelique Byrne/Chris Kjaer St. Joan Antida – Cynthia McLinn/Melissa Peppler St. Thomas More – Emily Pirkl Wauwatosa East – Julibeth Favour West Allis Dottke – Bernie McCarthy
MATC Students Put Zoo Train on the Map
October 18, 2019

While MATC students were doing fieldwork to create a survey of the coal handling area for our Zoo Train Challenge, they took the time to shoot some 3D photos. Those images are now available on Google Maps, and give a good look at the site our Zoo Train students are focused on. [raw] [/raw] To view other images in the series, pull up the Zoo on Google Maps, and click the icon of the little person in the lower right corner of your browser
We Energies Hosts Site Tours for Zoo Train Students
October 18, 2019

Over the past two days, We Energies hosted four tours of their coal handling facility in Oak Creek for students in our Zoo Train Challenge. A team of five from We Energies walked students through the procedures they follow to safely store and move coal from when it arrives by train to when it is used in the power plant. On their tour of the facility, students were able to see the equipment and systems in use. What students learned about how to manage coal on a very large scale, they will now bring to bear as they think through how to revise the coal handling process at the Zoo.
Zoo Train Challenge for 2019-2020 Kick-Off
October 2, 2019

This year 140 students from 11 area schools will participate in our Zoo Train Challenge– redesign the coal handling process used for the Zoo’s steam locomotives. At yesterday’s kick-off event, students had a chance to visit the site, see what it’s like to lift a bushel bucket of coal, and meet their peers from other schools. Before we went into a Q & A session, we sat students at tables where they got to know peers from other schools and worked together to identify the questions they wanted to see answered at the session. That process was led by Dr. David Howell from MSOE, who brought along 13 MSOE student volunteers to help facilitate the work at each table. While students went through that work, teachers and industry advisers had a chance to meet and talk through how they will run the project in their classrooms. Two New Berlin students from last year’s challenge joined us for the event– one, who went to the school board for permission to retake the engineering class so she could participate this year, and a second who is now at MSOE, and came along to help.

Zoo Train

UWM Hosts Zoo Train students, lets them break things

Zoo Train Challenge – Conceptual Design Review

MSOE Hosts Workshop for Zoo Train Challenge

Zoo Train Challenge Kick-off

Design Thinking Workshop at Briggs & Stratton

2024-25 Collab Labs

Collab Lab 65: Beyond Skills – Building Capabilities

Collab Lab 66: Engaging Families

Collab Lab 67: Connecting to Community

Collab Lab 68: Making Progress in a Turbulent System

Collab Lab 69: Celebrate & Re/Connect