Engineering Experiences

Principal Investigators: John Ristvey, Randy Russell

Funder: National Science Foundation-funded ITEST project with the Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) in partnership with the University of Colorado, Boulder

Short Summary:

Engineering Experiences explored how middle school students from low-income families could engage in engineering after school to complement the science and engineering learning during the normal school day. Our initial goal was to introduce various engineering topics/platforms related to the atmosphere and associated sciences, including wind power, solar energy, aircraft design, atmospheric sensors, and testing physical models of dropsondes using a wind tunnel. We then developed over a dozen lessons using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) or drones that were very popular with students ranging from upper elementary through high school. The project team tested our learning materials with several after-school programs in Colorado, which served students from low-income families by offering after-school or summer programming for students.