All year the architecture construction and engineering has been drawing blueprints and talking through engineering details, but this month ACE members were finally able to apply their skills to the real world.

Al Wachutka, a science teacher at Park, was the key organizer of the ACE program at the high school. The program is designed for students to get a first-hand look at possible careers.

Mark Miller is the head of the science department and knows about the program at the school.

“(Students) are assigned a problem and they engineer a solution to that problem. They work with Mortenson Construction and other team members to try to solve the problem,” Miller said.

The problem assigned to the students is the basis for a project they work on for the whole year.

The student team meets after school Thursdays to brainstorm ideas for their project and work with mentors.

Students in the ACE program went to the Fairview Southdale Hospital to see a live construction site Dec. 5 and applied what they’ve learned.

Sam Register works at Mortenson Construction and is the head of the program at Park.

“Students got to see all the systems in progress,” Register said.

According to Register, the students toured the exterior and interior of the building. They also saw examination and emergency rooms being built.

Junior Justin Less was able to visit the hospital with the program.

“The field trip was really cool and interesting,” Less said. “I liked seeing the process of construction and how things get made.”

According to Register, the next field trip will be scheduled for spring. Their plan is to visit a fabrication shop where materials are made that are commonly used for construction. Additionally, they will be able to visit the Vikings Stadium at the end of the year.

Along with the field trip, the group has continued its work on the design aspect of its project.

Chris Tauscheck is a mentor in the ACE program who works at PCL Construction. His role is to help guide the students through the process of developing their project.

Tauscheck said it is still early on in the process. The group has a vague description of its project and they’re developing milestones to keep them on track.

“We are trying to teach students from start to finish, all the decisions that are made in the process,” Tauscheck said. “It’s cool to see kids actively working together, bouncing ideas off each other, brainstorming, and trying to do something that happens everyday in the business itself.”

Junior Mikey Segal joined the group because of his interest in architecture.

He said he wanted to learn more about the field by joining the program.

“It helps with team skills and how to work together and that aspect of the job,” Segal said.