Newsroom

When theatergoers attended recent performances of the Spotlight Players' production of Shrek The Musical at the First Presbyterian Church of Matawan, they didn’t realize that Pinocchio’s nose was created by the actress portraying the role: Jimena Torres of North Plainfield, a Mechanical Engineering student at Raritan Valley Community College.

Torres, who plans to graduate from RVCC in spring 2023, took on the task of designing and fabricating a “Pinocchio nose” that would extend and contract during the musical’s performance. She used 3D Design software and 3D printing to fabricate the “nose” elements and the mask to which the nose connects. To extend and contract the “nose,” Torres used a bicycle shifter-cable and sheath and attached one end to the inside tip of the “nose” and the other end to a custom 3D-designed and printed “slider” that attached to the belt of her costume. By subtly moving the “slider” with her hand, she was able to make the “Pinocchio nose” extend and contract to the delight of the audience, making it both an engineering and theatrical success.

The project was a part of the “Authentic Engineering Experience,” a project-based learning program that tasks students to solve a real problem for a real customer in one semester. The Authentic Engineering Experience is offered by former RVCC Professor Peter Stupak (currently president of Main Engine Start, a NJ Nonprofit Corporation) through the RVCC Service Learning program.

RVCC is located at 118 Lamington Road in Branchburg, NJ. For further information, visit www.raritanval.edu.


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July 29, 2022

Media contact: Donna Stolzer, 908-526-1200, ext. 8383