ORLANDO, FLA. — Pride — and thousands of dollars worth of prizes — was at stake in the Society of Plastics Engineers Plastics Race competition, held throughout NPE 2015 in Orlando.
The scavenger hunt-style quiz fest saw dozens of young people walk the length and breadth of the show, visiting nearly 40 booths in order to answer a total of more than 50 questions about plastics.
Lasting all day, the victors were finally announced with a group of students in Team SMA coming out on top with 330 points, winning $6,000 worth of Apple Store vouchers in the bargain.
The winning team members included two students from Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Mich. — Christopher Laverty and Dylan Clark — and two students from Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport, Pa., Stephen Bassler and Brady Taylor.
Taylor said the quiz had been a really enjoyable experience.
“We walked a lot, and our feet hurt, but it was worth it. Plastic is such a versatile material, it covers a whole range of products and disciplines and it was a really good test of our knowledge. We've had a great time.”
Ironically, a technical glitch nearly stymied the whole exercise, with team members' iPhones refusing to transmit data when they visited booths throughout the show.
However, those with Android phones were able to access the questions and clues successfully and teams were hastily reorganized so that each of the 20 teams of young people had at least one Android handset per group.
Awarding the winning team their prize, along with handing second- and third-place groups their $4,000 and $2,000 Apple Store vouchers, respectively, Jaime Gomez, vice president of SPE, said the race had been “a heck of an adventure.”