As a materials science student, your first lab experience is in the foundry making greensand casts. You go through the entire process of wetting and sifting the sand, compacting the molds, and removing the hot parts. The pattern used to make the vintage stadium memorabilia was created over 100 years ago by a local craftsmen. The MSE department isn’t allowed to sell any of the casts, so they allow students to make them and keep them (for free) every year. One of the coolest things you will see in the foundry are the large induction furnaces that melt the metal. Induction furnaces use electromagnetism to heat up the metal, and it creates a pool of liquid metal that appears to be levitating, a pretty cool thing when seen in person.