6th Grade
With all of our back to school activities and new 6th grader orientation activities these first six weeks of school we worked fast and furious during class time. One of the really fun activities that 6th grade students were able to complete while in class was the creation of a compressed air dragster. Students get to race against their classmates for bragging rights. Though this project is really fun for students it also teaches some important engineering skills. Students utilized a 3D modeling software called autodesk inventor to design and create a virtual model of their dragster. After they printed off their own design we went down to the woodshop and created the cars using real tools of industry including a drill press, band saw, and power drills. Next year if students so choose to take the technology and engineering class they will actually use many of these woodworking tools themselves after a series of safety tests and activities.
7th Grade
7th grade technology and engineering is a very unique experience for students. Not only do students get a chance to use engineering software in class to design and learn the different types of engineering drawings but students actually get to go into the woodshop and learn to use tools that an engineer, entrepreneur, or inventor may use when creating a product. I truly believe it is important for students at this age to learn how to use tools and machinery safely. Learning to not be afraid of these real tools of industry can lead to many career opportunities or hobbies in the future. I have spoke with professors at MS&T Rolla and having students who have experience working with tools and machinery is very useful on their competitive design teams.
8th Grade
8th grade engineering can be challenging to some students as I am trying to prepare students in this course to take the high school engineering courses. A few options students will have in high school include drafting, robotics, IED, Intro to Engineering and Design, and Principals of Engineering. As of right now students are learning how how to create orthographic and isometric drawings. Students will work on a puzzle cube project where they must design 5 interlocking pieces. For these pieces they will need to create orthographic, isometric, and 3D modeled pieces before they create their prototype puzzle cube. I have a few examples of student for below.
