Eighth grade students from nine Tioga and Broome County schools, about 130 in all, attended an Engineers Day event on May 17 at Lockheed Martin, located at 1801 Route 17C in Owego, N.Y.
The annual event engaged students in fun activities, which promote the studies of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
According to the U.S. Department of Education, projected STEM jobs will continue to increase, such as
information security, computer systems analysts and software developers, environmental protection, statistics, medical scientists and biomedical engineering.
Assisting with STEM efforts are companies like Lockheed Martin that work to inspire and encourage young people to consider careers in engineering, and in turn, shows them how the math and science they are learning in school is applied in the workplace.
Students from Candor, Newark Valley, Spencer-Van Etten, Tioga Central, Waverly and Binghamton East and West, Seton Catholic and Mountain View participated in
hands-on activities which included the egg drop challenge, a Lego robot building exercise, a 3D printing project and electronic building using Little Bits. Students also viewed an unmanned quadcopter demonstration and a flight simulation.
Given only ten minutes, one task challenged students to create protective packaging for eggs, which were then dropped from selected height levels into paper bowls filled with packing peanuts. While most eggs survived the fall, the students left with a better understanding that processes often have to be modified several times before implementation, and also learned, among
many key points, what it means to work within a budget as it applies to how many packaging products they chose to use.
Kelly Meredith, a software engineer who works on cockpit software for helicopters, explained that a college professor was the first to suggest she consider the engineering field. Today, she enjoys her role at Lockheed and the continuous challenges, and where, such as taking a flight test, she can see the results of her work.
During the egg drop challenge, Mikki Roberts, a chemistry and physics teacher at Newark Valley, shared, “We just completed a lesson on propulsion, so my students can see how this project relates to what they are learning in school.”
Spencer Van-Etten Guidance Counselor, Dan Craven, and during a 3D printing session where students put together parts to make a prosthetic-
type hand with moveable parts, commented, “I have some tinkerers here and other students who work well with their hands,” adding, “And then there are several who are interested in math and science, so they are all excited to be a part of this event.”
In addition to troubleshooting and other valuable lessons learned, students also left feeling that engineering can also be artistic and innovative.
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