SMS hosts Engineering Camp

June 21, 2008 11:28 pm

— The Introductory Engineering Camp was held at Stillwater Middle School during the week of June 9-13. The purpose was to expose a variety of Stillwater Middle School students to the fundamental concepts of engineering.
The camp had 18 participants, all incoming seventh graders. The camp focused on four main activities that allowed participants to perform the roles of both scientists and engineers. First, students designed and mass-produced candy airplanes. Then students researched four common types of popcorn to determine the “best,” created slime and developed practical household uses for slime, and tested a variety of household products to create the most effective propellant for film canister rockets.
The camp was instigated by Dr. Karen High, chemical engineering professor at Oklahoma State University. High also worked closely with Becky Hammack and Beth Watt, SMS science teachers, who led the camp.
The camp is funded by Stillwater Public Education Foundation, which provided $15,000 for a four-component engineering experience for SMS students. This was the second year of the summer engineering camp. During the school year, students in the Society of Women Engineering program worked with SMS girls in an afterschool engineering program. Within the next few years, all sixth and seventh grade teams will develop and conduct integrated engineering units in math, science, English, and social studies classes. The final component of the project involves extensive analysis of current SMS curriculum for further engineering opportunities.

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