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