Herff College of Engineering
Hundreds of students explore the world of engineering at Herff eDay
Nearly 700 students from across the Mid-South showed up to eDay 2026 at the Herff College of Engineering.
Those students, between third grade and their senior years of high school, came from around 30 schools, including public schools, private schools and homeschool organizations.
eDay 2026 allowed those students to take part in 12 demonstrations, including "A-Blazing-Race," hosted by Memphis, Light, Gas, and Water. The event educated students on the power of solar energy by allowing them to build and race their own solar-powered race car.
Among the most popular competitions were Egg Drop, Fash Build, Penny Boat and The Wall. Egg Drop put students' design skills to the test, allowing them to drop egg-containing contraptions down a stairwell. Flash Build taught students the basics of construction, letting students pile up books as high as possible until the tower collapsed. The Mid-South Gifted Academy built a tower 55 books tall in this year's competition. Penny Boat took the competition to the water as students loaded pennies until aluminum foil boats, seeing how many pennies a boat could hold before it sank, but no other competition tests construction and design skills like The Wall. In The Wall, students used duct tape to secure a chair to a wall. A student must then sit on the chair for two minutes without the chair falling.
At MLGW's "A-Blazing Race," Terek Scott Jr., Kaleb Blue and Matio Giron of John P. Freeman Middle School, accompanied by teacher Oran Jones, won the middle school competition while high-schoolers Nicholas gary and Michael Taylor of University High School won the award for competition and notebook and Nigel Matthew and Kadien Cox-Gonzales of the Memphis School of Excellence took home first place in solar car design.
Team and/or individual winners of the other competitions are as follows:
- The Wall: Team Cosmo of Mid-South Gifted Academy
- Flash Build: Team Rolly Pollies of Mid-South Gifted Academy
- Penny Boat: Collierville High School Team A/1 of Collierville High School
- Build a Biomedical Scaffold: Team Golffish Catchers of Mid-South Gifted Academy
- Egg Drop: Team Dynamic Duo of Home School (Kimla Hill)
- AIAA Airplane Launching: Edward Matianga of Mid-South Gifted Academy
- Paper Airplane Design and Flight: Team Rolly Pollies of Mid-South Gifted Academy
- Coding Competition: Team Code Tigers of University High
- Pasta Car: Daniel and Bighan of Collierville High School
- Homopolar Motor Build: Scott Yelland of Mid-South Gifted Academy
But not every competition required skill. Students received "passports," which they got stamped at every event they attended. Prizes were given to students with the most stamps at the end of the day. Emmett Fulmer of Mid-South Gifted Academy won the passport competition amongst high schoolers who attended, while Jackson Salmon, also of the Mid-South Gifted Academy, got the most stamps out of any middle schooler in attendance. Anthony Maldonado of the Memphis School of Excellence Cordova won the passport competition at the elementary school level.
Herff also showcased dozens of activities and demonstrations. In learning about drones, students sat in a chair and let 40-mile-an-hour winds blow them away, illustrating the conditions drones are designed to fly in. Herff's staff also taught students about earthquakes, biomedicine and groundwater through Herff's "Water on Wheels" exhibit.
eDay wouldn't have been possible without the dozens of schools that participated and all of the Herff volunteers dedicated to teaching students about the wonders of engineering. Herff College of Engineering Dean Okenwa Okoli shared his gratitude, saying, in part, "Events of this magnitude do not happen by accident. They require careful planning, long hours and a shared commitment to excellence. Our faculty, staff and students rose to the occasion in every way. From organizing competitions and hosting demonstrations to welcoming guests and ensuring everything ran smoothly, your efforts were evident in every detail. Most importantly, you helped create meaningful moments for young students who are beginning to imagine their futures. You represented this college with professionalism, enthusiasm and pride. For many of those students, eDay may have been their first glimpse into what is possible in engineering. That is a powerful responsibility, and you carried it well."