The University of Nebraska State Museum’s August Sunday with a Scientist program for children and families will showcase quarter-scale tractors and the science behind them.
The program will take place from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Aug. 16 at Morrill Hall, south of 14th and Vine Streets on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s City Campus.
Professors and students from the Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory and international award winning Quarter-Scale Tractor Team — both part of the Biological Systems Engineering Department — will help visitors learn how mechanized systems management and agriculture engineers develop tractors from initial design concepts through final manufacturing.
Quarter-scale tractors built by the Quarter-Scale Tractor Team will be on display outside Morrill Hall. Inside the museum visitors can see firsthand how engineers begin a concept and use the latest Computer Aided Design technology to design tractors. Children will be able to view various mechanical tractor parts up close.
The Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory is the designated tractor testing station for the United States and test tractors according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The Quarter-Scale Tractor Team competes in competitions designing tractors utilizing the latest technology. Recently, the team won the International Quarter-Scale Tractor Student Design Competition in Peoria, Illinois, which judged the group’s tractor design based on innovation, manufacturability, serviceability, maneuverability, safety, sound level and ergonomics.
Sunday with a Scientist is a series of presentations that highlight the work of scientists, while educating children and families on a variety of topics related to science and natural history. Presenters share scientific information in a fun informal way through demonstrations, activities or by conducting science on site. Sunday with a Scientist takes place on the third Sunday of each month.
For more information on the program, including upcoming topics, visit the museum website.
