New Pig was asked by Saint Francis University to participate in Science Day 2009. This is a day where approximately 450 local high school students come to Saint Francis and attend various activity sessions of their choice that involve scientific principles. Jason of Customer Service and I represented New Pig at Science Day and created a Spill Drill Obstacle course for some of these students.

The session began with discussing New Pig, how it got started, an overview/explanation of our absorbents and core products, and then the students were asked to apply this knowledge in an obstacle course.

The students were split into teams and each student had to suit up with appropriate protective clothing (goggles, gloves, and apron) for each of their tasks. Each student participated in the obstacle course, which provided hands-on learning for a safe work environment. After each event, the team was given a puzzle piece; at the end of all the events they had to put the puzzle together and use a decoder to reveal the message: “Safety is Everyone’s Business.”

The first event was a simulated oil spill on water. The teams had to select the correct absorbent mat and remove as much oil as possible from the water and retrieve a puzzle piece which was fastened to the bottom of the pan.

The next event involved the students making their way through an obstacle course of absorbent socks on the ground to get to a simulated spill of “Chemical X” (which was really colored water). There were mock drains on the tiled floor where the students had to deploy samples of the Drainblocker® Drain Cover and select the correct sock to contain and absorb the chemical spills. Their puzzle piece was found under their drain.

During the third event, the teams had to sort through various gloves that had questions about personal protection equipment inside of them. One of the gloves contained a piece of the puzzle they needed. They had to correctly answer all of the questions before proceeding to the final event. They were allowed to ask the rest of their team for help during this event.

During the final event, the students had to properly dispose of the spent absorbents by placing their absorbents using the proper disposal method. Several bags were labeled with different disposals, which aided in the understanding that absorbents take on the properties of whatever is absorbed into them. They then were given the final piece to the puzzle and the decoder to unscramble the message.
Prizes (promotional items) were awarded to the winning teams, as well as students who could answer questions about New Pig, our products, and their applications.
