Water quality program among 10 new Marquette engineering academies for K-12 students

MILWAUKEE – The Engineering Outreach Program in Marquette University’s College of Engineering is offering 10 new academies for students ages 6 through 18, in addition to popular returning programs. Now in its sixth year, the program continues to develop and offer unique opportunities for students to have fun while learning problem solving skills.

The 10 new academies include Water: It’s All About Energy, which will have students testing water samples from local waterways through hands-on experiments in the Marquette Water Quality Center. Other new programs include Catching the Wind: Designing Windmills, a program from the Engineering is Elementary program developed at the Museum of Science in Boston, and The Greatest Siege Machine Class Ever, where students will build and compare different types of catapults.

The Engineering Outreach Program encourages all students, regardless of age, race or gender, to explore and study engineering. A registration form and complete list of programs are available on the Marquette University College of Engineering website. Program fees range between $60 and $190. All programs have class size limits and enrollment is first-come, first-served. Online registration is available.

For questions or more information please contact the College of Engineering Office of Enrollment at (414) 288-6720 or engineering@marquette.edu.

The new fall programs include:

Oct. 23, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., “Art in Science, Science in Art”
Students ages 7-9 will learn the science behind these make-and-take art activities: the properties of plastics as you sculpt “pop” art desserts; the effects on the eye caused by pop art pictures created in class; chromatography applied to the dying of hats; the physics of making spinning tops; and the bending of light rays through hand-built polariscopes.

Oct. 29 and Oct. 30, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., “Puppy CAD”
This new course, for girls ages 12-16, will integrate art and technology into the engineering design process. Participants will learn how to generate 3-D models using computer-aided design and produce personalized movies by discovering how to display and animate their computer models.

Oct. 29 and Oct. 30, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., “Fun with Fluid Power: From Hydraulic Robotic Arms to Pneumatic Rockets”
Fluid power, pneumatics and hydraulics are found everywhere, from squirt guns to the brakes in our vehicles. In this new program, students ages 10-16 will build balloon-powered cars, pneumatic rockets, hydraulic lifting devices and three-axis robotic arms. Tuition includes take-home materials.

Nov. 13, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., “WATER — It’s All About Energy” Nothing can live without it, but we take it for granted. Students ages 14-18 will use water samples from rivers, lakes and streams to measure fundamental water quality parameters, such as the dissolved oxygen levels and various pollutant concentrations.

Nov. 13, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., “SUPER-CHARGED Mindstorms NXT”
This class, for ages 12-16, will use Bluetooth technology to control a LEGO NXT robot from a computer, and to communicate between robots. Participants will learn how to use sensors and data storage devices and how data are analyzed.

Nov. 26 and Nov. 27, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., “The Greatest Bridge-building Class EVER!”
In this course, students ages 10-16 will build and take home three different wooden bridge models that move: Strauss-Trunnion, Swing and Lift Bridges. They will also use computer-aided design to create their own stationary bridges, which will be built of wood and stress-tested until they break.

Dec. 4, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., “CAD Mechanisms and Animation”
Students ages 12-16 will be introduced to computer aided drafting programs (CAD). They will learn how to create 3D rotating images of engine models and how to animate a dogfight between 3D models of airplanes, creating movies of the models in action.

Dec. 11, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., “Catching the Wind: Designing Windmills”
In this new course, participants ages 10-12 will build their own windmills and design blades to make their windmills spin. From the “Engineering is Elementary” program developed at the Museum of Science in Boston.

Jan. 22 and Jan. 29, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., “Robotics in Action”
Students ages 13-17 will learn how robots with two legs, four legs, six legs, wheels and tracks work. Get hands-on experience with these robot types to learn something about their capabilities and limitations, as well as about the different software required to run them.

Jan. 22 and Jan. 29, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., “The Greatest Siege Machine Class Ever!”
Students 10 through 16 will build and test four medieval siege machines in this new course: Siege Tower with catapult, Trebuchet Catapult, Torsion Catapult and a Leonardo da Vinci catapult design that uses tension stored in bent wood.