Thank you so much for making this opportunity available for your child!  The level of engagement and enthusiasm was ELECTRIC this past Saturday.  I truly look forward to our next meeting.

Today the young engineers and designers experienced what a natural disaster can do to your planning. We started the day by taking on the role of new hires at a local power company. Right in the middle of “new hire orientation”, a disaster hits and we have power outages in eight states. It’s all hands on deck! Our design project for a recreational facility has been put on hold to assist linemen and grid workers get things back in order in the midst of hurricane and tornado damage. What do we know?  What do we need to know, and how can we find out?  The lists of questions are long. In our “orientation”, we learned all about systems. We discovered that systems include boundaries, elements, inputs, outputs, and interactions. We also learned that systems can be interdependent, so what other systems are in critical need if the power grid is dysfunctional? What subsystems do we count on to solve the power disruption?  What do we know about electricity that we should keep in mind as we plan to work in adverse conditions?  Are there other problems that must be discovered before we plan a solution?  Break out the maps and grids, over the next six weeks we’ll be taking on this challenge to restore electricity as a team!

Of course, safety became a major part of our conversations. Our final class discussions revealed some holes in our knowledge and a need to research and respect the power of electricity.  We are not able to engage in activities or experiments in electricity without adult supervision, and when disaster strikes, we must take precautions. Check out these website with your child to discuss at home electrical safety: