Goals:
- Stimulate and develop student interest in the various engineering or related disciplines.
- Strive to increase the number of minority students studying engineering or related fields at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
- Promote public awareness of engineering and the opportunities for minorities in that profession.
- Given a real world situation students will be able to develop, build, test and modify possible solutions using the engineering process.
10th Grade: Accessible Design
Overview: Design for accessibility is becoming an increasingly important aspect of architectural design. The aging of the Baby Boomer generation and the influence of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) has generated a growing demand for design solutions that maximize the comfort and safety of individuals with disabilities. This project takes the novel approach of using an aging superhero as the client to engage the students in considering the many factors involved in creating accessible designs. By engaging in the seven design thinking phases for this project, students have the opportunity to develop their competencies in critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication.
Q1: Smart Phone Accessory
Q2: Balance Bike
Q3: Vex Design Competition
Q4: Set Design
11th Grade: Disaster Relief
Overview: Natural and man made disasters occur frequently around the world and can lead to situations of great need for their victims, who are often left without access to clean water, food, or housing. To alleviate the suffering of the disaster victims, the international community often provides relief in the form of supplies, food, and housing. This project challenges students to design affordable housing for victims of a disaster, taking into consideration the special needs of the victims and other factors, such as the ability to deliver and assemble housing quickly. By engaging in the seven design thinking phases for this project, students have the opportunity to develop their competencies in critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and communication.
Q1: Contain it Housing
Q2: Contain it Housing
Q3: Vex Design Competition
Q4: Vex Design Competition
12th Grade: Kuumba (Creativity)
Overview: Students will develop an invention; invention idea(s) must be unique or novel device, method, composition or process. It also may be an improvement upon a machine or product, or a new process for creating an object or a result. An invention that achieves a completely unique function or result may be a radical breakthrough. Such works are novel and not obvious to others skilled in the same field. All students will present inventions and models to a panel of educators (in a Shark Tank format) to seek the opportunity for possible funding for patent development.
Q1: Identify the Problem; Identify Criteria and Constraints; Brainstorm Possible Solutions
Q2: Generate Ideas; Explore Possibilities
Q3: Select an Approach; Build a Model or Prototype
Q4: Refine the Design
