Engineering Cool Stuff '09

A hands-on 5-day camp
for 12-16 year old
budding engineers!
(rising 7th through 10th grade students)

Session I: July 6-10, 2009 - WAITING LIST ONLY as of May 18th
Session II: July 13-17, 2009 - WAITING LIST ONLY as of May 18th
9 am - 3 pm
University of Delaware (Newark Campus)

REGISTER ON-LINE! Space is limited! As of Monday, May 18, all spaces are filled or being held for those who had pre-registered. Please submit your registration with the understanding that you may be placed on a waiting list and notified when a space becomes available.

Camp Description

What better way could there be for nurturing budding interests in science, math, or engineering than through hands-on activities in the University of Delaware’s engineering laboratories and classrooms?! Students will be immersed in the dynamic world of engineering, where they will begin to think and act like engineers -- working in teams, learning from engineering students, faculty and staff, and watching for ways to improve life around them by modifying an existing condition or product, or by designing their own new product. By the end of the camp, they will have collaborated on an invention plan and will be ready to share that plan with you at the “Cool Stuff Fair” -- 2-3 p.m. on Friday, July 10th and Friday, July 17th, for the respective camp sessions -- so that parents, guardians, and friends can visit and admire the displays before the close of the 2009 Engineering Cool Stuff camps.

Who should attend?

This day camp for 12-16 year olds (or rising 7th through 10th graders) is designed for students with an interest in science, math, and engineering. (NOTE: Parents/guardians will be asked to remove their students from the camp if the students are not attentive to the rules of the lab/classrooms, thereby causing distractions and putting themselves and others at risk. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.)

What will the students be doing?

Camp sessions feature some common activities and some unique to that session. Some activities are common to last year, but are ones that students have indicated they would like to do again. On the registration form, select just one session. If that session is already filled, we will contact you to let you know of openings in the alternate session and/or the waiting list.

Session I Activities (July 6-10):

• Team-building - Learning to work in teams - just like engineers must do!
• Crystal Modeling + Crystal Growing - Learning about crystal structures in nature and then growing rock candy crystals.
• Design-Build-Race a Hydrogen Fuel Cell Car - Designing, building and then racing "intelligent" hydrogen fuel cell cars - and gaining an understanding of how the mechanical design can affect operating efficiency as well.
• Anodizing Metals - Understanding and using the oxidation properties of titanium to create beautiful colors in medals and jewelry.
• Carbon Footprint - Determining YOUR household's carbon footprint, and designing a plan to reduce that footprint.
• Water Contaminant Removal - Designing a water filtration column to remove "sludge" - and competing to see which team creates the "cleanest" water!
• Coastal Processes & Sediment Deposition - Working in UD's Ocean Engineering Lab to understand and model the methods used to control sediment deposits..
• Bridge Building - Using the West Point Bridge Design Software in UD's engineering computing classroom, then working with UD's structural engineering faculty and students to build bridge models and test them in UD's structural engineering lab.
• Invent! - Collaborating to design a new product.

Session II Activities (July 13-17):

• Team-building - Learning to work in teams - just like engineers must do!
• Crystal Modeling + Crystal Growing - Learning about crystal structures in nature and then growing rock candy crystals.
• Design-Build-Race a Solar Car - Designing, building and then racing their aerodynamically engineered cars (not just from a kit!) that are powered by the sun.
• Having Fun with Composite Materials - Using the properties of composite materials to design and build a light-weight composite part - and then test its strength.
• Thin Films & Solar Cells - Dissecting a thin film solar cell to learn about its components, and then "turning pennies into dimes and vice versa" by using the "sputtering process" that is employed to create some solar cell components.
• Having Fun with Polymers - Being introduced to UD's leading-edge discovery of ultra-thin polymers - and exploring ways these new polymers can be used in the future; creating their own polymer cushions to help them win the egg drop contest.
• Wind Power Engineering - Designing different wind turbines and testing them to see which paddle design generates the most electricity.
• Invent! - Collaborating to design a new product.

Questions?

Contact Kathy Werrell by e-mail or by calling (302) 831-4863 or (302) 831-2401.