Middle School Students Learn About Engineering

Nearly 100 middle school students from Chadwick and Prophetstown spent Friday at Morrison Tech learning about the different aspects of engineering.

Six different hands-on sessions were presented by Morrison Tech faculty members assisted by their students:

• Building the tallest structure possible after an explanation of the limitations of a construction project and the key components of the foundation.
• Designing a three-dimensional model and outputting it as a prototype.
• Using an injection molding machine to create a finished plastic paper clip, golf tees or screwdriver.
• Mixing the raw ingredients of concrete, and learning the importance of water to the mix and then performing basic tests on the concrete, including compressions testing and slump testing.
• Using software to design a bridge, making choices of style and sizes of bridge material.
• Programming an Arduino microcontroller to act as a stop light.

The event was the college’s third Middle School Engineering Technology Day during the 2016-17 school year. After three more sessions are held this spring, an anticipated 460 students from eight area schools will have participated.