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WHAT MAKES A ROCKET GO? Could you make one yourself? Visiting scientist Chris Kopley shows middle-school students how in the “Gateway to Engineering” summer program.
STEM Innovations Generate Enthusiasm for Science
By PAT HENNESSY
Published in the January 2010 Issue of the Fairfield County Catholic
“Our country doesn’t have
enough engineers,” says John
Cook, assistant superintendent
of schools for the Diocese of
Bridgeport. “The U.S. has more
people going into massage
therapy than engineering. But
we’re going to solve the career
problem; we’re going to solve
the indifference problem.”
Diocesan schools have introduced
programs that introduce
students not only to the scope
and discipline that engineering
studies require, but to a sense of
the wonderful worlds that scientific
exploration leads to. At the
same time, they offer hands-on
experience and combine science,
technology, engineering
and mathematics (STEM).
“The STEM solution is going
to revolutionize the way we
teach,” says Cook. “Once you
get kids seeing what engineering
is, they are unbelievably interested.”
Fueling Love of Science
To encourage that process,
the High School Engineering
Academy (HSEA), an innovative
Saturday morning program
at Fairfield University’s School
of Engineering, is fueling a love
of science in students from the
five Catholic high schools of
the Diocese of Bridgeport. That
program is now in its second
year. This past summer, working
in conjunction with Western
Connecticut State University in
Danbury, a summer program
reached a younger age group –
middle-school students in the
Danbury area Catholic schools.
The HSEA program gained
overwhelming popularity
among area high school students
and their parents during
the 2008-09 school year. This
year, approximately 40 students
are participating in the academy.
They come from Notre
Dame High School in Fairfield,
St. Joseph High School in
Trumbull, Kolbe-Cathedral in
Bridgeport, Immaculate High
School in Danbury, and Trinity
Catholic in Stamford. Members
of the School of Engineering
faculty teach in the academy.
The academy emphasizes
innovation, creativity, and problem
solving using the nationally
recognized Project Lead
the Way, based on the STEM
curriculum. Each Saturday,
students begin classes at 10
a.m. After a lunch break, they
continue until 2:30 p.m. During
their studies, they utilize facilities
in Fairfield’s manufacturing,
electrical, and computer
engineering laboratories.
This sounds like a demanding
schedule for kids as young
as 14, but students involved in
the High School Engineering
Academy seem to be hungry for
the opportunity. “Ever since I
was young, I was always taking
things apart and putting them
together,” says R. J. Cremin, a
freshman at Notre Dame.
IT’S NOT A BETTER MOUSETRAP; it’s designing an innovative use for one that captures the attention of R.J. Cremin and his classmates, participants in the High School Engineering Academy, a collaboration between diocesan high schools and Fairfield University.
“You had to figure out how
much energy the mousetrap
has, and how much the wheels
need, and how to transfer the
energy from on to the other,”
he explains. “Then it changes
when you add weight to the
vehicle. We’ve been learning a
lot of physics lately.”
A lot of teens are discovering
that using physics, math, and
mousetraps is the best possible
way to spend a Saturday.
“The courses are portals into
an exciting world,” says Carl
Philipp, assistant principal at
Notre Dame and coordinator
of the HSEA program for the
school. “It’s a dynamic program
that provides students with realworld
learning.”
NASA Training
Even while the High School
Engineering Academy was
getting underway, the Office
for Education was preparing
for an initiative for younger
students. Starting in 2008, two
diocesan teachers in the STEM
program traveled to NASA and
trained with NASA Engineers
and National Science Teachers
Association (NSTA) trainers
in force and motion activities.
Another two teachers attended
in 2009.
The dynamic “Gateway
to Engineering” summer programs
hosted in June and July
at Immaculate High School in
Danbury displayed the effect
of their training. The two, oneweek,
pre-engineering classes
explored force and motion,
particularly Newton’s first three
laws and rocketry, with students
in grades 5-8 from all six local
parochial elementary schools:
Saint Mary, Bethel; Saint Rose
of Lima, Newtown; Saint Joseph, Danbury; Saint Joseph, Brookfield; and Saint Gregory the Great and Saint Peter-Sacred Heart, Danbury.
Three diocesan teachers who had taken the NASA training were involved in the program: Katherin Sniffin, assistant principal of Sacred Heart/Saint Peter School in Danbury; Josephine Ferry, science teacher at Saint Gregory the Great School in Danbury; and Madi Demon, science teacher at Saint Rose of Lima School in Newtown. Under their guidance, students learned Newton’s laws, rocket design features, and fuel possibilities.
Each session was filled to capacity. Students worked on-line with the NASA education site and conducted hands-on experiments every day. “We invited community experts and scientists each week,” says Sniffin. Among other experts, geologist Chris Kopley demonstrated the steps in the operation of a basic automobile engine and discussed the parts of a model rocket, which he later launched.
Design a Rocket
“My mom wanted me to go, and I thought it would be fun,” says fifth-grader Gabrielle Goldman. Even though she had never shown an interest in science before, the idea of designing her own rocket captivated her. “The teachers knew a lot about rockets, and it was interesting to see what makes them go up,” she says.
Launch Day at the end of the week, shooting off rockets the students designed themselves, was the highlight of the program. “I went to the lift-off,” says John Cook. “Each kid demonstrated what they had done, and checked out how well their plans worked.”
“I made a water bottle rocket,” Gabrielle says with pride. “It went far. I hope to do it again next year with different scientists.” Her enthusiasm proves Cooks contention that, with programs like these, Catholic schools are going to solve the indifference problem and inspire the next generation of much-needed engineers and scientists.
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