In August of 2024, during the Kick-In, the WOT hosted multiple fun activies for new students at the University of Twente. During these activities they were able to learn and make things at the WOT terrain. Troughout the Kick-In, which lasted 9 days, the new students were divided over do-groups from the same study program.
On the 20th we hosted a welding course for the ladies Kick-In of W.S.G. Newton. During this day new female students at Mechanical Engineering received a welding course where they learned to make strong connections using electrode welding. The final product was a steel name plate on a stand. This sounds simple, but required the new students to make tidy ‘catterpillars’ 🐛 on the steel plate and weld on the inside and outside of an angled connection.
On the 26th new students of S.G. Daedalus came by for their faculty Kick-In. Each do-group made a drink holder. Each do-group received blank planks that were cut into a shape related to that do group, with the goal to draw✏️ and paint🎨 on it to their liking.
On the 27th and 28th new students of W.S.G. Newton came by. On the first day the do-groups competed in which could build the best catapult. They were allowed to use pallets and parts from spare bikes alongside tools from the workshop. The goal was to make the catapult that could shoot the furthest. After this the do-groups painted their own drink holders to use them out at a BBQ from Newton. The second day was another day of ‘beuning’, but this time the do-groups competed to make cranes that could lift a keg the highest.
In addition to these activities the WOT also had it’s own do-group experience. For the first time since its inception the WOT has formed its very own Mechanical Engineering do-group for this years Kick-In. Some of our WOT members wanted to help ‘kiddos’ as parents or as they called themselves: ‘senior beunhazen’. Unfortunately, no one of us had do-group parenting experience. However, we did not let that stop us, and made sure that we and the future kiddos would have an amazing kick-in. To make sure that the future kiddos would fit the WOT mindset, we made sure to advertise our do group with workshop tools, welding equipment, campfires and, of course, pancakes🥞! Especially the pancakes made us popular during the do-group market, as there was a crowd of people who showed up to ‘take a look’. Most importantly though, was that the kiddos that we got seemed content with their do-group.
The WOT is hosting introduction activities every Wednesday and Thursday throughout the month of September. Yes, that is a lot of intro activities. The intro activities are easy to follow and well prepared, you need no prior knowledge and can come by to have a look what the WOT is all about. Interested? Use the signup form below to let us know that you are coming and to join the free dinner (If you so wish).
The evening starts at about 17:45 and we have dinner together (which you can join), or come by later in the night for the activity, to help with a project or to join us around the campfire.
Wednesday the 6th of September Terrain tour and marblepump workshop. This Wednesday we will be giving tours of our terrain, multiple members will be walking around to explain what each contraption or building is and answer any questions you might have.|
After the tours (and dinner) we will be starting construction on marble pumps, each course taker can make their own marblepump and take it home with them afterwards. Here (Dutch, English) is the manual we will be following, but you don’t need to prepare anything.
Thursday the 7th of September Lecture on well drilling. We will host a lecture on well drilling, and in particular manual well drilling. Different techniques and concepts will be introduced and discussed and of course there will be time for all your questions.
Wednesday the 13th of September EMAS drilling! Today we will put some of the learned theory in practice. (or give you a very quick catch up course if you missed last Thursday) We will be drilling a well by hand using the EMAS method, last year we got to 6,5 meters. Will we be able to beat that?
Thursday the 14th of September Fix your bike for free, (repareer je fiets voor niets) This night you will get the chance to fix your own bicycle! we will provide parts and expertise to help you (within reason), you bring a bicycle and your unbridled enthusiasm.
Wednesday the 20st of September Workshop course We will be giving a workshop course, you can get experience with different techniques like welding, grinding, cutting, reading technical drawings etc.
Thursday the 21th of September Working on “the Diever” the Diever Today we will be working on WOT projects, one of which is our big steel windmill at the front of the terrain: the Diever. If the weather allows us we will be repairing the tail.
Wednesday the 27th of September Working on “the Diever” the Diever Continuing work on projects.
Thursday the 28th of September Working on “the Diever” the Diever Continuing work on projects.
Please sign up for an activity if you are interested, it is always possible to withdraw but this helps us estimate how many people (and thus food and materials) to expect.
The introduction period is one of the most fun months at the WOT, where we meet new people that come here to learn and do fun activities. The first Intro activity was the Marble pump course. Here, kiddos learn how to use various pvc-forming skills to make a waterpump. It was once again remarkable to see how quickly a pile of pvc pipes turns into a big water fight, mostly with semi working water pumps. The kiddos were very excited about the technology and many WOT memories were made; And all this on the first activity.
This year’s soldering course had intro participants learning how to solder on prototyping boards by making a simple current limited LED circuit. The participants quickly took the task upon them and quickly has a series of three LED’s glowing brightly (barring the LED’s lost through leaving out the resistors, may they Rest In Peace ☹). With extra time left the participants were provided with a single pole double throw switch and instructed to design a circuit that would switch between the three LED’s and another one, also giving them some introductory knowledge to simple circuitry.
In preparation for the well drilling practical the next day, we were lectured by Menno about well drilling. During this lecture we were taught all kinds of drilling techniques while Menno talked about his own experiences. He showed us loads of demonstrations and actual drilling gear, which made the lecture very interesting to watch. Most importantly, the goal was set to drill at least 11 meters the next day, crushing the previous year's record of 9 meters.
Dragos: I was really excited to do the EMAS drilling as we had a lecture about it the day before. The actual drilling was way harder than I expected, especially on the hands, but it was fun to do. As tried to do a bit of everything, I can tell you that pumping was fun for the first five minutes, pulling the rope was not that hard if you had gloves on, otherwise you would get rope burn, and turning the drill was the most fun, but also the most exhausting part, in my opinion. All in all, I would do it again if the chance arises.
After a very successful GMA, where two old board members were freed from the WOT board, the remaining members gathered to play the greatest game ever played in the history of games: “WOT members, old and new, what do they know? Do they know things? Let’s find out!”
The game featured such categories as “Which myths have these two busty boys busted, and which myths busted these boys?” and “Get your gribby grabbers on those items and then tell us their diameters, lengths, or other measurements.”
After six nail biting rounds where WOT members showed off what they knew and learned many new things, everyone left a little wiser. And after only a little bit of cheating from the teams, Buurman and Buurman reigned supreme, winning the grand prize of six chocolate bars and wrapping up an eventful night.
The third Thursday of the introduction evenings brought a great opportunity for every broke student, both old and new: fix your bike for free! Participants quickly discovered what was really expected: to get their own hands dirty! Soon, bikes were flipped upside down, saddles removed, and wheels rolling around, where small groups teamed up to lend each other a helping hand. By the end of the night, a whole fleet of bikes, of both participants and WOTters, rolled out of the workshop in a better shape than when they had arrived that afternoon. We hope to have learned the participants an occasional practical skill along the way!
In the last week of the introduction period, we (the new WOTers) were instructed to make a shelf bracket out of steel. During this workshop course, we all had to pair up and were taught all kinds of techniques to process steel by older WOT members. These techniques included cutting & bending and most importantly: welding steel and using an angle grinder. At the end of the workshop course, everyone succeeded in making a shelf bracket. One too few to actually attach a bookshelf.
This is the last introduction activity and this evening was very similar to what we do on a normal Wednesday evening. We did not have that much turn up, but with the people that were at the WOT this evening we did a lot! We started fixing the Farmers’ pump, people practiced welding for an EMAS set that will be used for Wot Walks For Water and we continued building things for the hydroponics system. And in the end everyone helped clean the workshop and enjoyed the campfire afterwards. Now the new members are really ready for the WOT.
