Howland student builds model of century-old dam

Andrew Hallett has known of the Howland dam all his life, but he never truly understood the history, inner workings and exactitude of its design until he had to build it himself. At one-eighth scale, that is.

"It was designed real well considering that it's stood for almost 100 years now," the Penobscot Valley High School senior said Thursday. "For the time period in which it was built, it's a very good job."

Not that the fledgling civil engineer thinks the dam is perfect.

"There could have been a couple of changes to it that could have made it better," Hallett said. "For example, they had to make the cement spillway by hand, so I don't think they reinforced it too well. That's why it has little cracks in it - and a couple big ones, too. Other than that, the people there have kept it in perfect condition."

The 18-year-old's attention to detail and apparent design talent made his 4-foot by 8-foot model of the dam a winner of the 2005 Civil Works Model Competition. The contest is held statewide by the Maine section of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

He received a plaque from Adam Meyer, a project manager with Engineering Technologies Inc. of Bangor and a society member, during a SAD 31 board meeting Wednesday night.

The society holds the contest annually to inspire high school and college students to pursue civil engineering and related arts and sciences, Meyer said. The contest requires students to do models of local landmarks to scale.

"What better way," Meyer said, "to inspire people to pursue this than to have them go out and replicate the design of something around them?"

A lifelong Howland resident, Hallett's first choice was the dam. To understand its design, he toured it several times and interviewed 20 to 30 people to grasp its maintenance and history, he said.

Building the model took about 80 hours, he said. He used wood, cardboard, plaster of Paris and joint compound, among other things, to make it.

And he is quick to point out that he had help. PVHS physics teacher Ellen Simone guided him through the construction and contest entry process. Fellow student Randi Rackley contributed her painting skills and helped create the model's landscaping.

Another student, Matthew Osborne, did much of the heavy lifting. "If I needed an extra hand holding something, he grabbed it," Hallett said.


Howland student builds model of century-old dam - Bangornews.com Staff