They came with creativity, a few hand tools, and little time to solve problems normally addressed by engineers.
Altogether, about 90 high school students from Wisconsin, Illinois and North Dakota participated in a Construction Challenge on Saturday, sponsored by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers and held at the Milwaukee School of Engineering.
The students tackled hands-on projects such as designing a road and a water filtration system.
They were given only 18 minutes to solve one engineering problem, which was kept secret because students in Atlanta will be doing something similar next weekend.
The short amount of time forced students to think quickly without the benefit of advance preparation.
Construction industry professionals watched with interest.
"These students may show us something we never thought of. It can be a wonderful shock to the system," said Paul Parker, senior marketing and programs specialist for Volvo Construction Equipment.
Read the whole story from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.