Theme Park Engineering Club Creates Opportunities for Revolutionary Thinking
For the past two years, members of Northeastern’s Theme Park Engineering Club have developed innovative projects emphasizing thematic immersion that could reshape theme park engineering. The student group aims to bring its work to a national audience by competing in multiple competitions in the coming year.
This article originally appeared on Northeastern Global News. It was published by Cesareo Contreras. Main photo: The Theme Park Engineering Club meets on Wednesdays at EXP. Illustration by Renee Zhang/Northeastern University
Roller coasters, creativity and competition: Northeastern’s Theme Park Engineering Club rides high on innovation
Between them, Northeastern University mechanical engineering students Ariana Pertuz and Reyna Rodriguez have been on plenty of roller coaster rides, but they are in agreement on their favorite—Jurassic World VelociCoaster at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.
Located in the Islands of Adventure, this launch coaster is powered by linear synchronous motors and uses electromagnets to propel riders at speeds of up to 70 mph. The coaster features two launches, four inversions—during which riders are turned upside down—and a top hat of 155 feet.
“I remember getting off of it, and I could tell that ride changed every other ride for me afterwards. There’s no other ride that compares,” Rodriguez says.
“It really is an amazing ride,” Pertuz adds.
As leaders of Northeastern’s Theme Park Engineering Club—Pertuz is president and Rodriguez vice president—the fourth-year students have aspirations to one day design that kind of coaster themselves.
At their weekly Wednesday night meetings at the EXP research complex on the Boston campus, Pertuz and Rodriguez share in that enthusiasm with the 2-year-old club’s growing membership of theme park devotees.
The club places a big emphasis on the theme in theme park engineering, recognizing that parks are composed of more than just roller coasters. The best theme parks, the members agree, immerse attendees into an experience—think about the snow-covered roofs in the village of Hogsmead at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios or the dusty Droid Depot shop at Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
“The purpose of the club is to provide opportunities and resources for students who are interested in the themed-entertainment field,” Pertuz says. “Whether it’s through learning from professionals or just getting experience.”
Over the past few months, club members have been working on a number of small projects with that in mind.
Earlier this semester, they created their own Husky Bands inspired by the Disney MagicBands guests wear at Disney World and DisneyLand to enter the parks, unlock their hotel room at Disney resorts and purchase items.
The bands use radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and serve as a good exercise in highlighting just how deeply integrated engineering is in every part of the amusement park experience, explains Turner Marks, a third-year mechanical engineering major and the lead mechanical engineer at the Theme Park Engineering Club.
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