Penn State students explain the process of 3D printing to K-12 students at the 青年创新人才博览会.
宾州大学公园. -参与, educate and encourage the next generation of engineers, Penn State’s College of 工程 brought design to life at the 青年创新人才博览会, 一门科学, 技术, 工程 and math (阀杆) exhibition held at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, 宾西法尼亚, 1月. 2-3.
The weekend focused on the importance of 阀杆 disciplines and their roles as the building blocks of innovation. By highlighting 10 categorized innovation worlds with varying activities and exhibits, 博览会提供了20多种,000 K-12 students and their parents with the opportunity to experiment with and learn from experts in 阀杆 fields.
Featured in the Builders Boulevard world, the College of 工程’s booth included 3D printers, fully functional prosthetic hands known as Digi-Digits and an aluminum foil boat challenge. These activities showcased how engineers impact everyday life to more than 4,000 booth visitors.
杰西McTernan, instructor in the School of 工程 Design, 技术, 及专业课程, said booth visitors were introduced to key elements of the 工程 design process by prototyping their own prosthetic hand using modeling clay. The display emphasized the humanitarian aspects of 工程 through the Digi-Digits display, which demonstrated 3D printing as a tool to transform prototypes into final products.
“对我来说, 阀杆代表一种精神状态, 哲学, or general disposition of how to analyze the world and tackle open-ended challenges,他说. “That strategy can be applied in all walks of life. The sooner a child is introduced to these topics, the more likely it will become a way of life rather than a pastime that gets turned on and off.”
斯文Bilen, head of the School of 工程 Design, 技术, 及专业课程 and professor of 工程 design, 电气工程, 航空航天工程, stressed the importance of sharing what 工程 is and what engineers do with children through events like the 青年创新人才博览会.
“We’re becoming even more and more of a highly technological society,他说. “It’s important to have practitioners that can operate in that society. The earlier you can engage kids and help them understand what 工程 is, the more likely they are to go into that discipline.”
In addition to demonstrating how engineers take what they know and bring its benefits to the world, the fair served as a platform for advertising the Multidisciplinary 工程 Design option within the 一般工程 degree (GE-MDE) offered in the Philadelphia region. The degree is delivered via a partnership between the 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校 College, Penn State Brandywine and the School of Graduate Professional Studies at Penn State Great Valley. 凯瑟琳Jablokow, associate professor of mechanical 工程 and 工程 design at Penn State Great Valley, serves as the coordinator for the GE-MDE degree, which fuses together elements of the mechanical, electrical and computer 工程 fields with an 工程 design focus.
“It’s important to show parents and children that right here in Philadelphia, Penn State offers amazing 阀杆 degrees,贾布洛科说. “It’s important for our faculty to see where our students are coming from – their current challenges, 问题, 以及他们好奇的是什么. 走出去, 听人, and letting them ask us 问题 allows us to know what is going on outside our laboratories.”
