Raft Building
Building a raft is a project custom-made for engineers: students were challenged to use their budgeting skills and creative design acumen to build a functional raft that could retrieve an object in a lake. However, when one team bought up all the paddles, the others had to innovate. In one team, they used their rubber flip-flops to paddle the raft. In another that fell apart in the water, they kept going, holding on to the flotsam and jetsam of their raft.
Engineering Issues Addressed
	CREATIVITY "Not everything is planned and problems arise and must be solved along the way." "I think the rafting program was very similar to an engineering situation." "The course diversifies traditional engineering thinking. Everything doesn't have to be precise." "I learned that you don't always have to use mathematical solutions, that sometimes the answer to a problem is found in everyday life." 75% of the female participants felt that their willingness to try new things increased as a result of the 1998 raft building initiative (an increase from 64% in 1996). 100% of the male participants felt that their willingness to try new things increased as a result of the 1998 raft building initiative (an increase from 71% in 1996).
	PERSISTENCE "I am the type of person that can't admit I can't do something (which is bad) so I'll keep doing it over and over again until I get it (which is good)."