The 19th annual Girl Day 2020 was held Feb. 22 at the University of Texas at Austin. Hosted by the university’s Women in Engineering Program at the Cockrell School of Engineering, the event aims to spark creativity and inspire future careers in STEM fields. The free, day-long event gave more than 12,000 elementary and middle school students a friendly environment to explore dozens of science, technology, engineering and math activities.

Rosendin Electric and JE Dunn volunteers gave students a hands-on learning opportunity in electrical work. The firms hosted a Ready to Light Up the World – DIY Lamp Creation activity to teach students basic electrical skills on wiring a lamp safely. Students learned how to assemble plumbing supplies, strip wire and create custom metal table lamps to take home using kits donated by Lonestar Electric Supply, MTech and Elliot Electric.

Attendees also had a chance to speak with Rosendin employees about women in construction and career opportunities, ranging from installing conduit to computer modeling and virtual reality.

Students used an app to navigate dozens of learning activities offered by more than 170 companies, research centers, community organizations and student groups on the college campus.

Rosendin staff from left to right: Kristina Knight, senior administrative assistant; Jolsna Thomas, business development manager; Barbara King, receptionist; Sylvia Simon, field payroll clerk.

During Women in Construction Week, members of the Gilbane Houston team took to the road and visited the Tomball ISD 2017 Bond Program jobsite, which features a new elementary school, junior high school, district stadium and water treatment plant. After touring the jobsite, the group enjoyed lunch together and discussed what empowers them as women in the construction industry.

Pictured left to right: Tomeka Scheuerman, Katherine Jordan, Shaira Cardona, Suzanne Patron, Emilia Gonzalez, Darlene Cowins, Laura Maham, Maria Contreras, Joy Valha and Lisa Michaud.

Volunteers from Freese and Nichols’ transmission and utilities team in the Houston/Pearland offices recently designed and built laundry basket shelves for Corridor Rescue, a dog shelter in Houston. Team members created plans, including a 3D model, cut and constructed the shelves and painted the shelves and laundry baskets.

Pictured left to right: Kirk Sheng, Carlos Quintero, Willie Adams, Patrick Englert, Jared Barber, Amanda Stubblefield, Elizabeth Byrd, Rebecca Peters and Eric Engelskirchen.

On Jan. 28 in historic downtown San Antonio, Brasfield & Gorrie’s design and construction team joined members of the General Services Administration and U.S. Courts for a topping out celebration at the new U.S. Courthouse. The design-build project included eight courtrooms, 13 judges’ chambers and office space for the federal public defender, U.S. marshals, court clerks, federal probation and pretrial services, and the U.S. attorney’s office.

With the help of hundreds of Arlington ISD students, contractors Manhattan Construction and TDIndustries performed a plumbing systems test—colloquially known as a Superflush test­—on the Texas Rangers’ new Globe Life Field on Feb. 18 in Arlington, Texas.

The event, part of the commissioning process, is a stress test on an arena’s plumbing system. It ensures that sporting venues can handle maximum usage during critical windows such as football halftimes, hockey intermissions or the seventh-inning stretch for baseball games.

Contractors need hundreds of people to test all the plumbing fixtures (bathrooms, water fountains, kitchen sinks, etc.) at the same time. In this case, Arlington ISD students were invited to check the equipment. The students also received a tour of the almost finished ballpark.

TDIndustries, the HVAC and plumbing subcontractor on the project, installed 860 water closets, 260 urinals and 2,600 total plumbing fixtures. It’s the second major sporting venue completed in the past six months; TD performed a similar system test at Fort Worth’s Dickies Arena.

“We installed 26 miles of hydronic pipe in 18 months here in Arlington,” said Matt Johnson, TD project manager, in a statement. “We test the system in stages, but the final test allows us to confirm the quality of our work. Beyond that, it’s a fun opportunity for these kids to help out, tour the stadium and hopefully become baseball fans for life.”