Amusement Park Engineer: An Industrial & Systems Engineering Activity for High School Students

Engineering activities for K12 students typically have a mechanical- or civil-engineering approach. Most activities designed for industrial engineering feature assembly lines. These exercises do not convey the breadth of modern industrial engineering practice, and they reinforce the traditional association of industrial engineering with factories. Our Amusement Park Industrial Engineer activity is designed for high-school students. The park is simulated with simple materials. A foam-core board represents the park, boxes represent rides and park facilities, and HEXBUG ® Nano toys represent the guests. After each team builds a park using the board and a set of boxes, the HEXBUGs are revealed as the park guests. By tracking the bugs’ movements through the park, teams compute their guests’ average park visit time and the frequency of visits to each ride. During the second phase, teams redesign their parks to maximize profit. Each team begins with $100, representing entry fees. When a guest visits a ride, $5 is deducted; when a guest visits a shop, $10 is added. This activity employs the familiar experience of amusement park attendance to introduce students to several aspects of ISE: goals and constraints, layout, data analysis, and financial decision making.