Engineers in Training

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Course Description:

This 15-hour intensive session will introduce rising 6th- through 8th-graders to the basic elements of a computer-aided engineering design process through exploration and development of small scale systems. Students will be provided with a set of design criteria and then actively pursue their own engineered solutions through exploration in a laboratory setting. Participants will develop techniques in the measurement and collection of experimental data, the use of computational models to process data and aid design, and the construction of an engineered system.

The small-scale design systems are drawn primarily from the disciplines of structural engineering (straw trusses, lego/parafin span bridges) and 'aeronautical' engineering (projectile motion).

Educational Objectives:

Bright young adults will often display and interest and an aptitude for 'tinkering' - directly exploring how mechanical items, biological systems, electronics and other items function and then mentally creating improvements to the design. The goal of this workshop is to foster this attitude with interesting examples while also providing a more traditionally academic math and science context - in essence, introducing the culture of engineering in it's modern, computer-driven form. Students will learn to explore and question with the motive of eventually shaping the world around them.

Prerequisites:

Participants should be rising 6th - 8th graders or the equivalent and interested in science. While some experience with computers is helpful, it is not required. It should be noted that the emphasis of this program is engineering design through science, with computers being used as an investigational design tool.