Student Design Challenge / Blue Crayfish Suncatcher
Designed by Charlie Gaull as a project for the West Virginia Industrial Extension.
The WVU Industrial Extension partners with small and medium size manufacturers in West Virginia to support operational improvement and business growth. In an effort to inspire WV students to learn more about careers in manufacturing, the WVU Industrial Extension and Blenko Glass created a Student Design Challenge. Students had the opportunity to create a design and one lucky student had their design selected and will be made into a custom-made Blenko Glass piece of art!
“One of my favorite parts of homeschooling is being able to observe nature and sketch it out in a nature journal. Crayfish are one of my favorite animals and I’ve never seen a blue one, I’d really like to. My mom assigned this as the art project for the week and seeing my design come to life was amazing,” said 7th grade Student Design Challenge winner, Charlie Gaull.
Manufacturing Day provided Charlie with the opportunity to see his design go from a simple sketch to a computer-aided design, turned into a mold, and he was even able to stamp his design into molten glass. We are thrilled to share Charlie's finished product and we hope he inspires other students across WV to explore the many opportunities available in manufacturing.
