Eggs of every shape and size will be dropped from 30 to 50 feet in the air on Thursday in an event to see who can create the safest egg package.
The Cal Poly Packaging Association (CPPA), the university’s connection to the packaging industry, will hold its 19th annual Poly Pack this week, an event geared toward most majors which includes seminars, speakers, an egg-drop competition and a golf tournament.
Poly Pack primarily includes students from industrial technology, graphic communication, food science and engineering.
“(The event) is really good for people interested in design, work flow, structural design (and) marketing packaging in general,” said CPPA member Nancy Schueneman, a graphic communication senior. “It’s new and innovative technologies.”
The weeklong event began Tuesday with free ArtiosCAD workshops and a packaging basics seminar.
“Nothing you get doesn’t come in a package,” Schueneman said. “We live in an ozone layer, even air can be packaged.”
Poly Pack will also feature career opportunities and hiring; recruiting and interviewing will take place in the Chumash Auditorium today and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. H.P., Logitech and Pacific Southwest Container are a few of the companies that will be present at the event.
“(Poly Pack’s) goal is to connect industry with students,” Schueneman said. “Packaging is an industry, but it’s also the second largest industry in the world.”
The event features 18 speakers including JoAnn Hines, a packaging industry expert. Hines will speak today at 9 a.m. in Chumash Auditorium.
“Topics range from supply chain to RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) to the global economy,” Schueneman said. “There’s a place for everyone in the packing industry.”
One of the club’s main events is the egg-drop competition. The competition is held Thursday during Farmers’ Market from 6 to 8 p.m. on Chorro Street between Copeland’s and Black Sheep.
Students and industry members, as well as the general public, use a kit to design their packaging around the egg. The egg is then dropped from 30 to 50 feet in the air in hopes that it will not break.
“For an egg, that’s really impressive,” Schueneman said. “(We’re expecting) a couple hundred (people).” The winner will receive a $300 prize.
The event concludes Friday with a “best ball” golf tournament at 7:30 a.m. at the Black Lake Golf Course in Avila Beach.
For more information contact Schueneman at nschuene@gmail.com.