Saturday September 25, 2010

9am-3pm

The College of New Jersey

Armstrong Hall Room 102

Learn hands-on, middle school STEM activities and innovative ways to teach engineering with a green message

· Build a solar powered flashlight out of recycled materials

· Build structures that can withstand “earthquakes” and crushing forces

Receive:

· A stipend for attending

· Complimentary light breakfast

· Complimentary catered lunch

· Professional development hours

· Free resources and materials to take home

Please RSVP by Monday, September 20, 2010 to:

Jeanette Alicea

The College of New Jersey

Armstrong 103

Email: vega@tcnj.edu

Phone: (609)771-3336

Fax: (609)771-3330

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 30

On the first day of camp, the girls were given various creative materials to craft a large nametag for themselves.

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 27

One of the first lessons that Mr. Anderson taught our campers was the importance of drawing an accurate model. He stressed the importance of using a ruler in order to ensure that the students had straight lines in their drawings and that each drawing included precise measurements.

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 49

After the campers learned to draw detailed models they were given large pieces of foam in order to create a large “soap” or “sweet” prototype.

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 18

Ms. Bridgette Graham, the founder of  Sweetable Eatables, visited the girls’ class to explain to them the process of creating a business, and patenting an idea. Ms. Graham creates flower arrangements out of chocolates and other flavored candy that look just like a real bouquet. The girls each got to sample the arrangements and learned they they could capitalize on each of their unique talents in the future.

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 13

Mr. Chris Anderson displayed a hydroponics system in the classroom’s giant window, and during the last week we were able to use the fresh basil on our pizza! Some of our students took a keen interest in the plants and planted the seeds in the mini-greenhouses.

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 167

One of our students’ favorite activities was designing and building the mag-lev cars. Each student used his or her newfound drawing skills to sketch an accurate model of their prospective car, and when the drawing was approved, the student was free to build. Everyone received a wooden platform with 10 magnets glued to the bottom, and a foam housing for the CO2 cartridge that would eventually propel the car on our special track.

From there, all students were encouraged to do anything and everything they could think of to safely house an egg during a head-on collision with another students’ car. Each vehicle had to include at least 3 different mechanisms that would keep the egg safe, but each car could be no more than 12 inches in length, 4 inches tall, and the width could not be increased. The car could not weigh more than 224 grams. Students were able to use all materials in the room such as foam scraps, wood pieces, cotton balls, cornstarch peanuts, yarn, water bottles and insulation.

Many of our students were able to crash their cars time and time again with the eggs remaining intact. Students were encouraged to re-engineer their cars after an unsuccessful crash. After each successful crash, the winning car had to surrender one piece of protective material. The winners continued to crash their vehicle until the egg cracked.

◄ Back

Next ►

Picture 1 of 45

One of the last activities that our students tackled was circuitry. They learned how electricity traveled through wires, how to attach a power source, and how to attach a device that used to power. They also learned how to create a switch. They then applied this knowledge to building a flashlight from scrap materials.

Boys and Girls – Mondays

Sports Camp – Tuesdays

Girls’ Group – Thursdays

An Edible STEM Arrangement

Spending the Summer with Our Future Engineers

Thanks for continuing to follow my blog and letting me share my classroom experiences with you. This Summer, I’d like to take you away from my usual location at Gateway High School, and direct you to a new set of students and activities taking place at the Boys & Girls Club in Trenton, NJ.

First, let me back things up a bit and provide you with some background information. For the last three summers, I have been running a summer camp located at the Trenton Boys & Girls Club, which we call Future Engineers. The camp itself is just one function of a larger grant project, also called Future Engineers, which provides camps, after school enrichment programs and professional development throughout the year, in order to enhance K-12 Engineering Education in New Jersey. The grant itself is funded by the Martinson Family Foundation, and housed within the Center for Excellence in STEM Education, located within the department of Technological Studies at The College of New Jersey. This summer, I have 75 students, ages 9-15, enrolled in Future Engineers for a total of eight weeks.

With the help of the project coordinator, Susan Harrison, and my three amazing college students (Brianna Kurowski, Shane Evans and Julie Ryan), we are already halfway through our sessions and having a lot of fun. Many of our students have never had a tech-ed or engineering course before, but some of them have been involved with Future Engineers before through the after school enrichment programs.

Ms. Julie Ryan from The College of New Jersey, one of the pre-service teacher assistants

Thanks to a very supportive art teacher who gave us permission to use her classroom this summer, we have setup “shop” in an environment most conducive to project based learning. The students enjoy guest speakers and learn about STEM related careers, but most of what we do involves giving the students hands-on design challenges- and lessons in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math – which they are able to apply while prototyping a solution to a design problem with various constraints, using a variety of machines, processes and materials.

This summer’s activities include the following topics and activities:

Lessons: Safety, The Design/Engineering Process, Sketching & Drawing, The Designed World, The Impact of Technology on Society

Activities: Creative Name Tag Design Challenge; Innovative Candy Design and Foam Modeling Design Challenge

The foam sculptures were a modeling and brainstorming activity built into a design challenge where students had to come up with an innovative design for either a type of edible candy product, or a piece of art that represented their personality. The foam is cheap and easy to work with, making it a good choice for students learning how to operate different tools and machines for assorted processes.

Lessons: Careers, Higher Education Pathways, Aerodynamics, Newton’s Laws, Alternative Energy Transportation, Mag Lev Vehicles

Activities: Egg Crashing MagLev Vehicles – CO2 Power – Design Challenge

Lessons: Electricity, Circuits, Ohm’s Law, Light Reflection/Refraction, Repurposing Used Materials, Reverse Engineering a Flashlight

Activities: LED Simple Circuits and Schematic Diagrams; The Apocalypse Light Source Design Challenge

Field trip to The College of New Jersey, School of Engineering and Department of Technological Studies. The student were taken on a tour of the university and facilities in Armstrong Hall. While there, high school students in the STEM Educators Summer Academy, engaged the Future Engineers in hands-on design based projects, allowing them to practice for their future careers as teachers!

Lessons: The Design Principles and Elements, Effective Logos, Marketing, Communication Mediums, Silk Screening Processes

Activities: Logo Design Challenge; T-Shirt Silk Screen Design Challenge and Manufacturing

Lessons: Solar Panels, Alternative Fuel, Energy Storage and Conversion

Activities: Solar Powered Apparel Design Challenge; USB 2.0 solar to 5v circuit design challenge

Lessons: Farming Systems & Technologies, Agricultural & The Environment, Hydroponic/Aquaponic System Design, Organic Farming Techniques

Activities: Composting System Design Challenge; Soda-Bottle Wick System Design Challenge; Classroom Hydroponic System Design Challenge

Big open window at the back of the classroom is perfect for setting up hydroponics systems and “garden sock” compost growing systems!

On Thursday August 5th,  a reporter from the Trenton Times came to observe the Future Engineers all girls group. Many of the girls were interviewed for the article, and a photographer from the paper captured the girls working, and finally crashing their mag-lev cars. The article was featured on Friday, August 6th.