Cool stuff
Campers have a dynamic experience as young engineers
2:09 p.m., Aug. 1, 2011--The University of Delaware College of Engineering continues to successfully foster the budding interests of young engineers by immersing summer camp participants in the innovative world of engineering.
When UD first held its Engineering Cool Stuff Camp in 2006, Kathleen C. Werrell, assistant dean for engineering outreach pre-college and special programs, knew that “kids who are introduced to science early on maintain their interest, but it has to be hands-on or we’re going to lose them.”
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Now in its sixth year, the “hands-on” notion remains a fundamental characteristic of each activity during the Engineering Cool Stuff Camp, which ran this year from July 11-15 and July 18-22.
During the Engineering Outreach-sponsored day camp, the eager participants, ages 12-15, used teamwork, basic engineering principles, and acquired math and science knowledge to design, build, and experiment like professionals.
The camp offered something for every young engineer. Activities ranged from Titanium Anodization, in which campers channeled their inner artist as they used oxidation to create beautiful colors on titanium, to Ice Cream Making, in which participants learned how catalysts are used to accelerate ice cream making and then enjoyed the finished product.
Some activities were back by popular demand from last year and some were new this year.
Virtual Orthopedic Surgery
Among this year’s new activities was a biomechanical engineering exercise, led by Jenni Buckley, a 2001 UD graduate who is returning to the University this fall as an assistant professor of mechanical engineering.
Campers worked in small teams to repair prosthetic shoulders. The activity stimulated an experience similar to that shared by mechanical engineers and orthopedic surgeons, two professions that work closely together to develop efficient and safe orthopedic implants that create solutions to unmet medical needs.
The activity is an outreach program of The Perry Initiative, an organization founded in 2008 by Buckley and Lisa Lattanza, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon. The Perry Initiative was created with a mission to expand the number of women in the engineering industry by running workshops, like Buckley’s biomechanical engineering activity, to help girls who are interested in engineering gain a better understanding of the industry’s opportunities.
“Girls want to help make a difference, we want to show that engineering can make an impact,” Buckley said.
A growing camp
In 2006, the camp’s first year, one session was adequate for its 18 middle- and high-school participants. Over the past six years, popularity of the camp has grown tremendously. With more than 140 requests for the 80 camper positions, 2011 marked the camp’s largest enrollment yet, causing the camp to split into two sessions.
“With the larger enrollment, we had to provide more activities,” Werrell said of the change. “So we split the number of students in half each week, rotating them through the activities and giving everyone a chance at every activity while preserving the small-group, individualized attention that campers like.”
Article by Taylor Martel
Photos by Kathy F. Atkinson