Welcome to the Engineering and Architecture Club!
Have you ever tried to put together an IKEA furniture set? Scrambling over which screw goes where, nearly losing the instruction manual – written in an unrecognizable foreign language, of course – in the sea of chaos that is the assortment of wooden and metal rods spread across the living room, it becomes clear that reading a blueprint and effectuating it are two very different tasks. In Riverdale’s Engineering and Architecture Club, Upper School students take on an even more challenging task: utilizing online modeling software to create original blueprints that club members construct using the raw materials and equipment in Lindenbaum’s Maker Lab.
As senior Ishan Roy, one of the club’s co-leaders, explains, “The club generally attracts students interested in the fields of STEM.” Accordingly, while “there is no formal training,” students come to the club with “a lot of the ideas for [how to complete different] projects and the [skillset] needed.”
Each member shares their skills, forming an informal peer-to-peer learning environment. Club members can use Faculty Advisory Mr. Josh Merrow as a resource; however, Roy describes the club environment as “not completely structured in all ways,” continuing, “There is a lot of freedom.” As a result, the club’s agenda is mainly driven by members’ interests, with Mr. Merrow guiding them in following and maintaining safety protocols while operating complex equipment, including the numerous saws the Maker Lab has to offer.
Reflecting on the interdisciplinary nature of the club, Roy stresses that “we are involved in both the designing and building processes,” which require students to engage with both the tangible and intangible qualities of engineering and architecture. “One is kind of necessary for the other,” Roy remarks about the intersection between engineering and architecture. Given the multistep nature of the construction process, senior Veer Sawhney, the club’s other student leader, emphasizes the importance of planning out ideas thoroughly. As he explains, “Even [one] mistake [can] result in a disproportionate model when constructing it based on that plan.”
The club strives to construct devices “the Riverdale community can really use” while simultaneously operating as a “space for students to have some fun,” says Roy. While the pandemic slowed the club’s activities for a few years as students had limited access to the Maker Lab, the club is getting back into full swing under Roy and Sawhney’s leadership during this school year. In the past, the club constructed a mask dispenser machine which, Roy explains, “was in use before Riverdale dropped its mask requirement.” Since this creation, the club has been making a miniature bowling alley contraption to help with de-stressing, and a picnic table that students could use on the grass outside of Mow, an endeavor the club aspires to finish this Spring. Sawhney exclaims, “[O]ne just needs to be interested in making our community better [since] no experience is required to join.”
In the relatively small club setting of approximately five students, Roy stresses the importance of patience, problem-solving, and responsibility. Sawhney reiterates this idea, saying, “it is important to be methodical and careful while planning a project, as there are lots of small details involved.” Roy furthers, “Working on a project and managing something on your own without complete supervision requires being independent, [and having] accountability in setting your own project deadlines.”
In the array of many STEM-related activities for Riverdale students to get involved with on campus, what makes the Riverdale Engineering and Architecture Club different? Roy expresses, “While I can’t speak about all the other clubs, [his club] place[s] a special emphasis on the [multi-faceted process of] designing and then building, which is unique” insofar as it demonstrates the holistic process of “actually making something” in a dynamic way.
