SWOSU AAUW Tech Trek STEM Camp 2017, Engineering & Robotics

Although STEM is collaborative in problem-solving, engineering and robotics may require the most teamwork. In observing engineering teams building devices that do specific tasks, intelligent and creative AAUW Tech Trek campers pool all of their skills and creativity, test their ideas, and make revisions to achieve their goal. 

Engineering instructors were Southwestern Oklahoma State University's Cindi Albrightson and Duncan High School's Gretchen Taylor, a professional engineer now in education, who also worked with SWOSU's Madeline Baugher to present robotics curriculum.

Camp engineers must build a device that moves a figure from one location to another. How they accomplish the task, after instruction of basic principles, is up to the team. Using the scientific method, they collaborate extensively, alternate in the leadership role and both look at and help other teams. 

Eureka!

Gretchen Taylor, center, and Cindi Albrightson, engineering instructors, watch the progress of one team. They mingled among all of the teams to ask questions devised to drive critical thinking and problem solving. 

Pressure is the force applied per unit area and the force applied is perpendicular to the area. The unit of pressure is Pascal (newton / metre2). 

Other problems to solve...

Various factors influence pressure released.

Once campers build the device, how do they move the bottle? Hydraulics or pneumatics? 
Hydraulics is moving and operating equipment with oil or water under pressure. Pneumatics is air (gas) under pressure. Manually moving the syringes creates the pressure to move the load.

Introducing marshmallows into the syringes changes the air pressure. 

Campers also test hydraulics using water.

Serious business!

Teamwork!

We did it!

Robotics

Southwestern Oklahoma State University's AAUW Tech Trek STEM Camp offers different science, technology, engineering and mathematics core classes. This camp consists of hands-on core STEM classes, leadership, teamwork, etiquette, field trips, interviews/ mentoring with professional women and so much more.

N.B.

Camp leaders have rebooted the experience as the Southwest Alliance for Girls' Enrichment (SAGE) STEAM Camp and will present a new Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) camp in June 2018. 

To learn more or make a donation, see SWOSU SAGE STEAM Camp.