MET students’ capstone project helps local church, WABI reports

WABI (Channel 5) reported on a senior capstone project being completed by a group of mechanical engineering technology students at the University of Maine. The students are repairing the Unitarian Universalist Society of Bangor’s tubular-pneumatic pipe organ that was built in the early 1900s. Informed by professional organ repair companies that the organ should be replaced instead of repaired, the church asked the MET program if they could fix the organ. They were helped by four seniors who like to figure out how things work, WABI reported. “We hope that we’ll have a playable organ by the end of it and that they’ll be able to use it in services,” said MET student Justin Willis. “It is quite an interesting piece of history. There aren’t very many of these around anymore. And having one that’s been restored with, for the most part, historically accurate materials, it adds a little bit more to the historical value.” The students told WABI the project has been a challenge, but they have enjoyed learning about the organ and helping their community.