Welcome to Char County, the hottest dang region in the state' The sizzling sun has caused lots of pr

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Welcome to Char County, the hottest dang region
in the state. The sizzling sun has caused lots of
problems in this county, and the residents are
looking to you for help.They need a new dome.
Use your engineering skills to match the perfect
dome to the right location in Char County. Click
on one of the following location to get started.
Good luck -- and remember to wear your sunscreen
Location One Baseball StadiumWant some help?
Read Dome Basics before you begin.
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Location 1 Baseball Stadium

• Problem It's too hot to play baseball outside in
  the summerTask Build a dome over a
  ballparkPurpose To create an enclosed,
  air-conditioned space for ball players and
  spectatorsSize Really big (must cover nine
  acres)Budget 250 million
• Special Notes "Do you have any idea how hard it
  is to play baseball in the summer? The air is so
  hot and sticky, I feel like I'm pitching in
  peanut butter! Our fans can't stand the heat
  either. And the bugs? They're huge! Without an
  air-conditioned dome, our team is doomed!"--
  Pitcher, Char County Flames

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Location 1 Baseball Stadium

• You decide to build a state-of-the-art dome for
  the Char County Flames. What kind of roof will
  you build? Do you want the roof to open like a
  convertible? Or will you build a rigid roof, one
  that stays permanently closed?
• Rigid roof Roof that opens

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Location 1 Baseball Stadium

• Rigid RoofYou've decided to build a dome with a
  rigid roof. Not a bad choice! The first domed
  stadium in the United States had a rigid roof.
• You've built a steel frame for your roof, and
  now you must cover it with a strong material.
  Here are your choices
• Concrete Glass Plastic

Click here to try the open roof instead
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Location 1 Baseball Stadium

• Rigid Concrete RoofConcrete is a very strong
  material. You've built a sturdy dome over the
  park -- but there's one big problem. The grass is
  dying!
• The concrete roof blocks the sunlight, so the
  grass is turning a sickly shade of brown. The
  same thing happened to the grass in the Houston
  Astrodome, the first domed stadium in the United
  States. To make the brown baseball field look
  better for television, work crews painted the
  dirt green. Eventually, the dirt was replaced
  with an artificial grass called Astroturf.
• Unfortunately, the Char County Flames hate
  Astroturf. It hurts their knees and it ruins
  their uniforms. You don't want to listen to their
  complaints, so you decide to try a different dome
  option
• Click here to go back to material options

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Location 1 Baseball Stadium

• Rigid Glass Roof You've decided to cover the
  roof of this domed stadium with glass. It looks
  great, but none of the outfielders on the Char
  County Flames can catch a fly ball!
• When it's sunny, the glass dome acts like a lens
  and creates such a glare that the outfielders
  literally can't see fly balls!
• You don't want the Flames to look like fools, so
  try another dome option.
• Click here to go back to material options

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Location 1 Baseball Stadium

• Rigid Plastic Roof Plastic fabric is a great
  material to stretch across the top of your dome.
  It's waterproof, it's as strong as steel, and it
  likes to be stretched and pulled in every
  direction. But you've got a problem the dark
  fabric roof blocks the sunlight, and it's killing
  the grass on the field!
• You could replace the grass with Astroturf, or
  artificial grass, like they did in the Houston
  Astrodome, but then the Char County Flames will
  complain. They hate Astroturf because it hurts
  their knees and ruins their uniforms.
• Do you really want to listen to them whine? Try
  another dome option.
• Click here to go back to material options

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Location 1 Baseball Stadium

• Retractable RoofYou've decided to build a dome
  with a roof that opens and closes, also called a
  retractable dome. Great choice! Retractable domes
  are great for ballparks because they can be
  opened on nice days and closed on rainy or hot
  days. This way, no games ever need to be
  cancelled! The SkyDome in Toronto, Canada, was
  the first retractable dome to be built over a
  ballpark. Today, most domed stadiums are built
  with retractable roofs.
• Choose a material to complete your retractable
  dome roof
• Steel Glass Plastic

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Location 1 Baseball Stadium

• Retractable Steel Roof This is the best choice
  for the Char County Flames' ballpark.
• Enron Field in Houston, Texas, is a domed stadium
  with a retractable light-gage steel roof deck
  roof that opens and closes like the roof of a
  convertible car. It was built to replace the
  rigid Astrodome because players hated the
  Astroturf and the cavelike atmosphere in the
  stadium. Enron Field cost 250 million to build,
  and the roof opens and closes quietly in less
  than 20 minutes.
• You have just enough money to build a retractable
  domed stadium. Thanks to you, the Char County
  Flames can play on real grass. Plus, on sizzling
  summer days, the roof can close, and the Flames
  can play in air-conditioned comfort.
  Congratulations!

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Location 1 Baseball Stadium

• glass dome certainly looks cool, but the players
  and spectators will be in deep trouble if anyone
  hits a fly ball
• The Char County Flames have some star hitters on
  their team. If one of their players hits a fly
  ball into the roof when it's closed, shards of
  glass will rain down on players and spectators!
  Ouch! Plus, a curved glass roof acts like a giant
  lens on sunny days. None of the players would be
  able to catch a fly ball because the glass would
  smear the sun into a blinding wall of light!
• You don't want to injure the players or the
  spectators. Try another dome option.

Click here to try a different material
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Location 1 Baseball Stadium

• Retractable Plastic Roof Plastic is a fine
  choice for a retractable dome roof, but you don't
  have enough money to build one!
• Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Canada, was one of
  the first stadiums to be capped with a
  retractable dome roof made of Kevlar, a plastic
  fabric five times as strong as steel. A complex
  pulley system from a nearby tower opened and
  closed the dome roof in less than 90 minutes.
• There's only one catch retractable, plastic dome
  roofs can be expensive to maintain. In fact, the
  retractable roof over Olympic Stadium became so
  expensive to maintain -- it cost over 700,000 in
  annual upkeep -- that it was replaced with a
  permanent, plastic roof in 1998. You probably
  don't have enough money to build a retractable
  plastic dome roof, so why don't you try building
  a cheaper dome?

Click here to try a different material
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Location 1 Baseball Stadium

• Retractable Steel Roof This is the best choice
  for the Char County Flames' ballpark.
• And..youre done!