Summer SAVY, Session 4 Day 2, Engineering 101 (7th – 8th)
Another great day in Engineering 101!
After a brief overview of what we talked about yesterday, students dove straight into Civil Engineering. In the morning, we learned how supertall skyscrapers like the Burj Khalifa in Dubai and the Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia are designed and built. Students became Structural and Construction Engineers by building towers out of popsicle sticks. Be sure to ask your budding engineer how their build went and what they learned!
After lunch, we investigated some other subtypes of Civil Engineering, including Hydraulic Engineering. Because Hydraulic Engineers are responsible for the design of how water moves, they are vital to controlling river flooding, providing fresh water to cities, and designing dams. Students constructed a dam out of weird materials, but we were unable to test them today due to the possibility of inclement weather. However, we will test them first thing tomorrow morning.
Dinner Table Questions:
- Why is the Tower of Pisa leaning to one side?
- Why did the St. Francis Dam collapse?
- How did engineers protect Venice from flooding during high sea levels?
Have a great evening. We will be covering Mechanical Engineering tomorrow, which happens to be the field of engineering I chose. I am so excited to share my career field with the class!
NOTE: I forgot to remind the class of this today: on Thursday, we will be touring Vanderbilt University’s natural combined heat and power plant. Please send your student with closed-toed shoes and comfortable clothing for a walking tour on a summer morning.