Up close, they're wacky contraptions - bikes, trikes, quirky gadgets made of cardboard and glue. But watch them move and they become innovative machines - human powered vehicles designed by curious, creative minds.
"Do you view cardboard as a flimsy paper product only good for boxes?" asked Keith Turpin, the competition's creator. "Or is it a powerful tool that demonstrates the challenges that students will face in the work force after graduation?"
The latter, apparently. That was the case at least for the 36 students who designed and built machines for the engineering competition Saturday at EWU.
For some, it was the biggest challenge of their college career. Imagine building a human-powered vehicle out of paper products then driving it around a 300 meter course.
"Things look a lot better on paper," said Sammy Eastman, an EWU mechanical engineering student.
During weeks of trial and error, students in teams of four from Eastern and Spokane Community College had to struggle with problems such as weight distribution, design or even just keeping the pieces together. Rules limited each vehicle to a weight of 75 pounds or less. Ninety percent of the materials used also had to be made from paper products.
Students found the corrugated paper and cardboard at dump sites, in their back yards or at local companies such as Boise Cascade and Kaiser Aluminum. Like other students, members of Rick Bocook's team from Spokane Community College also used odds and ends: bicycle gears, pedals, hairbrush handles.
"I wanted to fulfill something that I couldn't do as a kid," said Bocook, who's studying mechanical engineering.
Most of the creations looked like tricycles or Big Wheels, but one was comparable to a wheelchair. Another was the shape of a giant Swiss Army knife on wheels. Despite their fragile appearance, some were able to carry as much as 500 pounds.
Saturday's event consisted of two contests: one was based on the student's presentation of their vehicles; the other judged by how fast they could drive them around the EWU field house. Winners of the two competitions received medallions.
The presentations are designed to teach students communication skills. Engineering, students say, takes more than just designing and building. It's also about teamwork and getting nonengineers to understand your work.
But the fun part of the event was the race. Each vehicle was driven by three students who wore helmets and circled the field house. No part of their body was allowed to touch the floor. A few lost their wheels after moving just a few feet. Some were able to finish the course in three minutes.
Then there were the drivers - innovative individuals who, despite mechanical failure, wobbled through the course by rolling the wheels with their feet or pushing against them with their hands.
"Engineering is no place for wimps," Turpin said, as dozens of people cheered the struggling drivers.
The contest - known officially as the Intercollegiate Human Powered Paper Vehicle Engineering Competition - was Turpin's brainchild two years ago.
He wanted to have a contest for engineers that didn't require much money, but still challenged their creativity. So he came up with the human-powered paper vehicles. He wrote a proposal, then got EWU's technology department to sponsor the contest.
The contest is an educational process, said Jim Ruch, chair of Eastern's Department of Technology. To make the human-powered paper vehicle, students have to research the types of materials avaliable as well as come up with a design. They also have to build it themselves. "They learn more about manufacturing by doing this," he said. "Its more than anyone can teach them in a class.
For Turpin, the competition is about preparing them for the world of work. The skills they learn to build a paper vehicle are the same they need to build a plane for Boeing or a car for General Motors, he said.
"It's so much fun to be a part of," he said. "But it also tests your determination and skills."
