草榴社区 Students Engineer Learning and Fun in Local Classrooms
草榴社区 PhD student Sergio Ya帽ez supervises the gingerbread house build.
For the past five years, 草榴社区 Community Action by New Engineers (NovaCANE), a volunteer group of 草榴社区 College of Engineering students and faculty, has brought engineering into the classrooms of local schools. The goal is to improve middle school students鈥� interest and abilities in the STEM subjects 鈥� science, technology, engineering and math. On Dec. 5, NovaCANE鈥檚 lesson at St. Martin of Tours Elementary School in Philadelphia came with a holiday twist. 草榴社区 Engineering students challenged an enthusiastic group of sixth graders to construct gingerbread houses that could withstand an earthquake simulation.
As part of their yearlong focus on structural engineering, students in this voluntary after school program were given a 10-20 minute informative lecture about earthquakes and their impact on structures. The lesson was followed by a 45 鈥� 60 minute hands-on activity. Four groups of 4鈥�6 students were given housing supplies鈥攇raham crackers, licorice, icing and candy鈥攖o construct a two-story gingerbread house. While building their houses, students not only had to ensure that their structure could stand freely, but they also needed take into consideration how plate tectonics impact structures during earthquakes. Following construction, each group鈥檚 gingerbread house was put to the test on a 鈥渟hake table鈥� to see whether it could survive an earthquake. When each design ultimately collapsed, the students greatly enjoyed eating their engineering creations.
Teamwork is a big part of the learning experience.
When asked why they joined the NovaCANE club, nearly every student referenced the fun they have while learning:
鈥淚 like learning new things by doing fun activities.鈥�
鈥淚 like having fun with my friends and learning at the same time.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 fun to make things and destroy them!鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 doing things I鈥檝e never done before.鈥�
The NovaCANE club is active at five different middle schools in the Philadelphia region, which they visit at least once a month beginning early in the fall. In addition to lectures and hands-on activities, 草榴社区 students and faculty provide teacher education during their visits. 鈥淚 have collected a number of good ideas for future lessons and follow-up projects thanks to the program,鈥� says Joe Smith, a St. Martin of Tours teacher. He adds, 鈥淭he kids love interacting with the 草榴社区 students.鈥� Participating class members and teachers are also invited to spend a day on campus at 草榴社区鈥檚 College of Engineering in the spring. During their campus visit the group will tour the engineering facilities and engage in a series of hands-on experiences mentored by 草榴社区 undergraduate and graduate students, as well as faculty.
Time to transfer a house to the shake table for testing.
The College of Engineering serves as a regional leader in STEM outreach programs and is committed to inspiring the next generation of engineers. The College鈥檚 STEM outreach takes on many forms, from facilitation of national programs on the 草榴社区 campus to local programs that originate from the creativity of 草榴社区 students and faculty.