Evolution of a Bridge Builder Outreach Activity

Many engineering outreach programs use building a bridge as a hands-on activity for multiple grade levels and audiences. South Dakota State University has used a bridge building activity, with slight modifications for grade level and time allowed, for over 10 years in outreach at schools and campus workshops. In recent years, it has been noted that the same level of students attending these outreach events are either performing the same or a similar activity at their school or another event outside of our outreach program which has adversely affected using this activity to stimulate interest in engineering. In the last two years, modifications have been made to create a bridge builder challenge that incorporates measurement, experimentation, simulation, design, and redesign for middle and high school students. Incorporation of design standards and performance as well as economic efficiency has been the key to linking science principles to engineering principles. Details of the activity and its implementation are discussed

Engineering the Future: A Workshop for High School Teachers

The framework guiding the development of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) identifies eight science and engineering principles essential for all students to learn. The Engineering the Future workshop, offered by South Dakota State University (SDSU) in the summer of 2012, focused on helping teachers better understand those principles and how to employ them effectively in their classrooms. Each day of the week-long workshop, teachers participated in a variety of engineering-related activities, accessed low and high-end instrumentation, took tours of engineering-related facilities in the region, and developed lesson plans to incorporate what they learned into their science classrooms. We used pre- and postworkshop surveys to assess the participants’ understanding and attitudes regarding science and engineering. Results of the survey showed participants had a narrow view of engineering prior to the workshop but by the end of the workshop, they were more aware of the nature of engineering, the various types of engineering, and they better understood how they could incorporate engineering principles into their current curriculum