Students looking for a mental challenge outside the classroom should head to the College of Engineering’s annual Mind Games competition Thursday.

Mind Games is a competitive, hands-on activity open to anyone who wants to participate, Linda Helstern, assistant to the dean for External Affairs, said. The activities are not limited to engineering students.

Mind Games consists of six challenging events that will take place at various times throughout the day. Students may participate in any of the events or may enter the Engineering Pentathlon competition, in which a student participates in a combination of any five events.

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The six competitions are:Bridge Over No-Man’s Gorge, Royal House Flush, the Robotic Challenge, the Over-Easy Egg Drop, Precision Pacing and Paper Aircraft Design.

Bridge Over No-Man’s Gorge requires contestants to design and construct, using plastic straws, a free-standing bridge that spans 20 inches and will withstand the greatest amount of weight.

Contestants in Royal House Flush will attempt to construct the tallest possible structure out of three decks of standard playing cards.

In Robotic Challenge event, participants will attempt to place an aluminum cylinder into the center of an aluminum doughnut without disturbing the doughnut’s location using a small robot controlled by a hand-held key pad.

Participants in the Over-Easy Egg Drop will attempt to package an egg to protect it from being broken in a four-story drop. Not only must the egg not be broken, it must also land within a target area.

Precision Pacing competitors will attempt to correctly guess the distance from a designated starting point to a designated ending point on an established course. The person with the closest guess will win the competition.

Those who enter the Paper Aircraft Design competition will have to construct an aerodynamic paper aircraft. The winner will be determined based on duration and distance of flight.

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All of the events, with the exception of the egg drop, require no advanced preparation.

Begun in 1981, the event was a brain child of the newly formed Engineering Student Council, which felt there was a need to celebrate National Engineering Week. The event is still sponsored by the Engineering Student Council.

Helstern said the event usually draws a large number of competitors.

We have had over 400 individual entrants in recent years, she said.

Winners of individual events will receive medallions. The University Bookstore has donated $50 gift certificates for winners of the pentathlon.

The college will also offer half-hour tours of its new facilities throughout the day.

In addition, various engineering competition teams will have demonstrations throughout the day. Helstern said these demonstrations will draw significant interest from across campus.

The Society of Automotive Engineers will have its Formula SAE race car on display between 11 a.m. and noon. Members then will take the car to the SIU Arena parking lot for a demonstration.

The American Society of Civil Engineers will have a concrete canoe and steel bridge display, and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers will have a 3/5-scale replica of a prototype hovercraft they are plan to race this spring.

The college also will have an engineering bowl for high school bowl teams.

For information about the day’s activities, contact Helstern at 453-7730.