Quadmania attracted a significant turnout of students despite gloomy weather

Despite a gloomy forecast, students still enjoyed the rides and games at this year’s Quadmania festival.

A mixture of screaming and laughter echoed across the quad, mingling with the hum of generators and the screech of brakes from the carnival ride called “Ring of Fire.” A blend of food scents and gasoline permeated the air where food trucks sat beside the academic services building. Students zig-zagged through each other with painted faces or inflatable donuts hanging around their necks. Quadmania was happening once again.

This year’s Quadmania festival was held on Saturday, April 25 from 1 to 9 p.m. Despite the overcast skies and the persistent wind chill, students were conversing and laughing as they moved through the maze of carnival games, rides and activities.

“That’s my favorite,” said junior information systems major Lizzie Reyes, as she pointed to the jumping area known as “Extreme Air.” Here, students could be strapped into a harness, which was suspended above an inflatable rubber platform. For several minutes, they were permitted to jump and flip themselves in the air as much as they wished.

A few carnival-style games sat in one corner of the quad, offering tickets to those who participated. The occasional clang of a bell marked the success of those students strong enough to launch the weighted ringer high enough with their giant hammer. They were awarded tickets for their effort.

Reyes described her disappointment with the number of tickets required for prizes. She mentioned that the smallest prizes were worth at least 30 tickets. She said, “It takes a lot to get that many.”

Wisps of pink fluff danced in the air and clung to the shirts and faces of (seb) members handing out free cotton candy and popcorn on the terrace. Wads of the pink candy were dumped into plastic bags and handed off to those waiting in line.

Aaiz Ahmed, a junior computer science major, took advantage of the free popcorn. He stood at the bottom of the terrace, munching and reminiscing about last year’s sunny weather. He looked across the quad and said, “I like what they have done with the rides and the games.”

It was a first time experience at Quadmania for several students, like sophomore chemical engineering major Sarah Kim. She said, “I think it’s really well planned out, and it was really well advertised.” She felt that a lot of people had turned out for this event and she would like to come again to future Quadmania festivals. Her only disappointment was with the food trucks. She said, “I wish that the food was free.”

Read more stories from: The Retriever Weekly

Students designed kinetic sea monster sculpture for race in Baltimore

This year’s Interdisciplinary Studies 430 class constructed a 15 foot, rideable, sailable kraken for the annual Kinetic Sculpture Race in Baltimore. The project was an intense collaboration of design and engineering.

A plastic kraken traversed campus Wednesday, April 22. The 15 foot sea monster was created as an entry in the upcoming Kinetic Sculpture Race hosted by the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. Participants in the event build works of art that are mobile both on the ground and in the water. Now in its seventeenth year, the race covers 14 miles, some of which are in the harbor.

Previous UMBC students have participated in the race as club members, but this is the first year that students will participate for credit. The octopus-on-wheels, which took two semesters to build, was produced by students in the Interdisciplinary Studies 430 class.

The group beamed with enthusiasm as they showed off the beast to URCAD attendees. Made of chicken wire, plastic bottles, bamboo and other recycled materials, the piece was designed to make a statement about waste.

“Everything here has been upcycled from something else” said Stephen Moore, a senior majoring in computer engineering and math with a minor in writing. With 3,000 discarded plastic bottles making up the kraken’s green color, the message about recycling is apparent.

Along with raising awareness about pollution, the creation truly demonstrates the the ingenuity and dedication of UMBC students. Comprised of students from different disciplines, the INDS 430 class brought together their skills and hard work to make the project a success.

Mai Huynh, a senior visual arts major with a focus on graphic design, worked on the designs over winter break.

“The class had so many ideas. Sometimes we’d stay up until 10 or 11 p.m. working on the project,” said Huynh.

Built on a quadricycle, the class rode the sculpture around campus. Moore recalled the vehicle’s first test run.

“We went downhill and realized we couldn’t brake,” he said with a laugh. The group has worked out small oversights, and they now feel ready for the race.

The sculpture is also seaworthy, and the students believe it will stay afloat in Baltimore’s harbor. Large, donated barrels kept the sculpture afloat on its test sail in the Pigpen Pond at the bottom of Hilltop Circle.

Nine members of the class piled into the vehicle as Dr. Hrabowski came by. On his way to deliver a speech, he stopped to admire the students’ hard work. While Hrabowski posed for photos with students, one student honked the vehicle’s horn, which made Habrowski jump in alarm.

As students explained their concept, they made it clear that INDS 430 offered them an environment of experiential learning.

“It’s a plastic sea monster. Plastic polluting the sea is killing animals,” Moore eagerly explained, sitting on one of the barrells.

As Hrabowski moved on to deliver his speech, the students leapt up to take their sculpture on another trip around campus.

“Let’s get cracking,” One joked, echoed by his peers.

You can see the kraken in action May 2 in Baltimore. The race is free to attend.

Photo Credit: Patrick Alejandro

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WAYS of KNOWING - INDS 330

An interdisciplinary approach to complex issues facing us today

Summer Session II – Six Weeks 

Class Number - 2556

July 6th – August 14th

Mondays, 1:00 – 4:10 PM

The critical challenges of our time involve a tangle of disciplines: from pollution to crime, cancer to climate change. Tackling those problems requires knowing how to effectively integrate different areas of knowledge.

“Ways of Knowing” provides interesting, fun and wide-ranging experiences in constructing big-picture analysis of the important issues facing us today.  Using real-world examples, you’ll practice creative thinking and problem solving by learning how to integrate complex information across multiple disciplines.  It helps students transform the way they think, learn and write.

Professor and philosopher Jim Thomas, who was previously featured in the Baltimore Sun as “one of the most popular college instructors in the nation” teaches the summer course.  He is known for “pushing students to laugh and think” and INDS 330 will be no exception.

• Develop critical thinking & problem solving skills
  
• Integrate and analyze compelling cross-disciplinary issues
  
• Transform how you think, learn, and write
  
• Fulfills upper level GEP writing intensive requirement
  
• Hybrid course - reduced in-person class time with a portion offered online
  

http://www.umbc.edu/summer/