Discovery Workshops
Discovery workshops emphasize hands-on learning in pairs or small teams to experience engineering, math, and science concepts through everyday activities. Topics of past workshops have included: rehabilitation engineering, sand castle building as an engineering design experience, forensic science, and other areas of engineering and science.
'Round, 'Round, Get Around, I Get Around!
We have all seen the familiar wheelchair symbol on parking spaces reserved for handicapped individuals. State and federal regulations require architects to design all public buildings to be "handicap-accessible", but is this sufficient? What other accommodations need to be made for persons with disabilities? The workshop leaders are Holly Ault and Allen Hoffman. Holly is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at WPI, and is currently a Research Associate at Children's Hospital at the University of Delaware and a Consulting Engineer at the Massachusetts Hospital School, in Canton, MA. Al is the John Woodman Higgins Professor of Mechanical Engineering at WPI, and does research in the area of prosthetics and rehabilitation engineering. Areas of engineering that were explored include mechanical, rehabilitation, and architectural engineering.
Who Dun It?
A dognapper is lurking on the campus of WPI. Someone has taken a faculty member's dog and carelessly left key evidence at the scene. Discover "who dun it" using modern forensic science techniques. Throughout the workshop, clues were analyzed using infrared spectroscopy, ink analysis, fingerprinting, and PH testing.
Sandcastles as an Engineering Experience
Most people have made sandcastles during trips to the beach or lakeside, but to build large, impressive castles, one must understand building dynamics and the material properties of sand. During this workshop, these topics were explained and experienced while the students make towers, crenalations, and other elaborate structures. The workshop leader, Dan Gibson, is an Assistant Professor of Biology and Biotechnology at WPI, and a sandcastle competition winner! Areas of engineering that were explored include materials and civil engineering.
Civil Engineering Wild Weather
Recent major weather events such as the Tsunami in Thailand and the Earthquake in China remind us that some structures are not able to withstand these intense weather conditions. In this workshop, campers discovered how civil engineers need to design structures which can withstand many different forces of nature including hurricanes and earthquakes. Campers built a skyscraper choosing their own materials and then put them to the test with a simulated hurricane and earthquake!
Maintained by webmaster@wpi.eduLast modified: December 03, 2008 10:26:56