Curbell Donates to Eagle Scout Project
Curbell Plastics, Inc., one of the nation’s top suppliers
of plastic sheet, rod, tube, tapes, and fabricated
parts, made a small but important donation towards a
big project. There was just one challenge: the donation
was for clear acrylic sheet during the height of the
COVID-19 pandemic. Jonathan Deitchman, then a Life
Scout, needed to fulfill the Eagle Scout Service Project
requirement to apply for Eagle Rank, the highest
achievement in the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). “This
project signified that I learned to be a leader, and worked
other
people,
while also
doing
something
to
help the
community
in a
fun and
interesting
way,” Deitchman explained. Interested in STEM, he
approached the director of the A.J. Read Science Discovery
Center at SUNY Oneonta to ask if his Eagle
Scout Project could serve the Center in some capacity,
to which the answer was yes.
The project, Mission to Modeling an Astronomical
Rover Simulation (M.A.R.S.), would be an 8’ ft x 10’ foot
representation of a Martian landscape. The display
would serve as a visual and physical sensory experience
for young children and act as home base to a fully-functional
Mars Rover slated to be developed by another
team. “There was a lot of research and development involved,”
Deitchman shared. “We had to do a lot of experimentation
like, how to get the landscape to look like
Mars using foam insulation board, CelluClay , Kid-
Krete, and paint. We had to test which ratios of ingredients
and colors looked best and would be durable
enough for a rover and younger kids touching it.” Understanding
part of the display would need to be safeguarded
to preserve its appearance and functionality,
Deitchman specified acrylic sheet as a durable yet transparent
shield. However, at the height of the COVID-19
pandemic, it was almost impossible to find material in
the right size.
It was then Curbell Plastics Syracuse Inside Sales Manager
Pat Silkey learned about the project. Due to the high
demand of large acrylic sheets used as social distance
barriers, transparent material options were limited, but
that didn’t stop Silkey from trying his best to meet
Jonathan’s specifications.
After two years and a total of 530.75 recorded project
hours, the Mission to M.A.R.S. Eagle Scout Service Project
was officially completed and dedicated as the A. J.
Read Science Discovery Center’s first permanent display
in May of 2021. “I am proud of the work I put into this
project and of all the volunteers and companies that
helped out, including Curbell Plastics and Mr. Silkey,”
Deitchman said as he reflected on the long, research-intensive,
and pandemic-interrupted process.
For more information, contact Beth Summers, Curbell
Plastics, Inc., 7 Cobham Dr., Orchard Park, NY 14127,
888-287-2355/716-667-3377, E-mail: bsummers@curbellplastics.com, Web: www.curbellplastics.com.
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