As the Webelo Scouts tried to grasp the engineering concepts for their engineering badge, Robert Matsuszko, 9, tried to relate the bridge discussion Donna Kierstead was chairing to something he was familiar with.
Kierstead, an interchange information specialist, discussed the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco as an example of a suspension bridge.
"I played a video game, and the first part was in Golden Gate Park," Robert said. "You could tell it was a suspension bridge."
Fellow Webelo Scout Matthew Hough related banked turns to a familiar subject as well.
"They sloped it like they do in NASCAR," he said.
Led by den leader Vicki Hough and mother Beth Walton, Troop 688 out of Fairfax Station covered several areas needed for the badge. These included 10 different things an engineer does, a visit to a construction site, a visit to a civil engineer, the three kinds of bridges, building a catapult and explaining how engineers use computers.
"We're earning the engineers activity badge," Matthew said.
Kierstead and fellow interchange information specialist Patricia Rodriguez have been through the Scout lesson before. The first group of Scouts came through about two years ago, and there have been about 30 since then, according to Kierstead. The den leader sends the requirements in ahead of time, but Kierstead didn't think that was necessary.
"We know it by heart," she said.
RODRIGUEZ STARTED out the lecture with the Scouts crowded around the scale model of the I-95/I-495 highway interchange project, asking the Scouts about the purpose of their office, which is the first of its kind for the Virginia Department of Transportation.
"The main reason we started this center is that we'd have to build in a congested area," Rodriguez said. "[The public] can come find out information on how to get around, and the biggest part, how their tax dollars are being spent."
Ice seemed to be the main focus this time of year as well.
"What do you think happens when they [bridges] freeze over?" she asked.
"They fall over," said one Scout.
Kierstead and Rodriguez took turns discussing safety, speed limits, bridges, sea level, elevations, surveyors and degrees in a circle. Kierstead used skateboards to explain 360 degrees in a circle. It was something the Scouts could relate to.
Matthew was motivated after the discussion. "I think I'm going to become an engineer when I grow up," he said.
Beth Walton liked the construction plan discussion the best. She thought it made the most sense to the Scouts.
"The construction plans, that was the key," she said.
Throughout the four years that Vicki Hough has been active with the Scouts, the troop has used different trips and parental expertise to give the Scouts a chance to earn their badges. They've been camping, sailing, fishing and to the Fairfax Station train museum in their quest to meet the requirements.
"One of our fathers was a swim coach, and we went for first aid and CPR [cardiopulmonary resuscitation]. We really try to use the talents of the parents involved," she said.
Walton mentioned a trip they have planned in the next few months.
"We're going to the National Building Museum and building a shed," she said.