Flickinger students off to a crushing start learning about construction

A group of Flickinger students are off to a crushing start in a unit about building construction.

Flickinger ATG students are focusing on the construction trades, and having started their lessons with some hands-on activities.

Students are mixing concrete and taking it to a testing facility to have it tested for strength.

Rob Norris, of Pullman SST, Inc., supplied all the materials, equipment and safety gear to assist 17 students mix four different types of cement. Samples of each type of cement were placed in testing tubes.

G2 Consulting Group of Troy donated their time, lab and staff to test the samples.

This week, students were given a tour of the lab and facilities. After being cured for 14 days, the testing tubes were opened and the concrete, cylinder log was placed into a machine to see how much pressure they could withstand. Students received a printout of the results.

“The whole process was an amazing learning experience for the ATG students,” said ATG coach Terri Thibodeau. “I can’t wait to see how they utilize this information as they work on other construction tasks this year.”