Projects:
LEGO KingDOME
For the past 6 years, LEGO KingDOME has been a key tradition to our TEA@ND culture. From 8 AM until midnight, TEA@ND takes over Midfield Commons in Notre Dame’s Duncan Student Center to build a LEGO theme park, encouraging every participant to let out their inner kid for the day. Through this event, we are able to reach out to the families of University staff and faculty, the local South Bend community, and students to come and join us in our endeavor.
We have been honored to receive the award for Best Club Event from the Notre Dame Club Coordination Council and Student Activities Office twice: once in 2020 and most recently in 2024. Though the LEGOs are only temporary, we hope we are able to help create memories that last.
Haunted House
The Haunted House is our main project during the fall semester, typically during a weekend in October to celebrate the Halloween season. Each year, we go from blue sky to the actual experience: creating a story, building the props, and then finally running the haunted house itself. As such, this project introduces students to multiple aspects crucial to themed entertainment like narrative writing, scenic fabrication, and even operations.
Ride Development Project
In the spring of 2026, we began work on a project to create a functional small-scale pirate ship ride. The ride, called Thunderbird’s Tempest, allowed our members the opportunity to participate in the development of a ride that follows standards and utilizes technologies commonly found in the themed entertainment industry. Members worked on teams related to the theming, mechanical design, safety, and controls systems for the ride. This project is ongoing and will be finished in the fall of 2026.
Competitions:
Toronto Metropolitan University Thrill Design Competition
The Toronto Metropolitan University Thrill Design Competition, also known as TMU, is one of the most challenging yet rewarding competitions we participate in. Teams are given a prompt in which they are expected to create a ride and are only allowed 48 hours to make as detailed a design as possible. This competition typically coincides with the yearly IAAPA expo and follows a preliminary round of a similar style. It may be intense, but it is a wonderful way to learn a lot about the ride design process.
Ride Engineering Competition
For 3 of the last 5 years, TEA@ND has participated in the Ride Engineering Competition, previously the Iowa State University Ride Engineering Competition. In this competition, we are tasked with designing and building a scale model themed attraction. Our attraction must meet certain g-force and cost requirements as well as operate for a complete eight hours. Pictured below are our three attractions we have submitted: Dr Tremble’s, Tombstone Tumble, and Blizzard Lizzard.
