Seminole Ridge SECME inspired an interest in the areas of math and science in young students in Palm Beach County during the 4th annual “Engineering Family Fun Day” November 5 from 10AM – 2PM at Dreher Park in West Palm Beach.
Sponsored by the non-profit educational and service organization The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) - Southeast Florida Section, the intent is to increase the students’ as well as their parents’, teachers’, and counselors’ knowledge of engineering and other technical fields. SECME senior Caitlin Miller, and sophomores Sam Smith and Jarret Rimel assisted boys and girls during EF2D as they challenged children like cub scouts from Pack 147 to build a popfly launcher with paint stirrers, a PVC pipe coupler and a ping pong ball. The minicatapults were sponsored in part by Lowe's Home Improvement of Royal Palm Beach, store #0654.
The event involved sponsored booths which presented a hands on activity by which the students, parents, and engineers can interact with each other. For example, the Seminole Ridge High booth focused on the physics of forces, and introduced students to the nationwide SECME engineering club (Science, Engineering, Communicationm, and Mathematics). By collaborating with SWE and NSBE, the event also emphasizes SECME's commitment to promote diversity and promote an inclusive global community within our organization and the engineering community.
Engineering Family Fun Day (EF2D) is a free annual event that the Society of Women Engineers hosts for Palm Beach County students. The objective of the program is to educate the community on engineering and spark an interest in math, science and engineering for students from 4th to 12th grade. EF2D informs students, their parents, counselors, teachers and the general public of the qualifications and achievements of engineers and the opportunities available though engineering.
EF2D offers ten activities that provide hands on learning about engineering and science. Some of the past activities have included robo hands, paper helicopter, lemon battery, bottle rocket design and launch, gum drop dome, water filtration & testing, making polymers and balanced force. An EF2D Passport is provided to each participant. Participants have the opportunity to go on a journey though engineering and receive a stamp at every destination. The Passport states the activity, the type of engineering associated with the activity and the difficulty level. This helps the students and parents decide if the activity is appropriate for the child’s age. It also serves as an educational tool by informing the participant on the type of engineering involved in certain activities. For example, the Bottle Rocket involves aerospace engineering and Popfly Launcher involves mechanical engineering. At every location, students also have the opportunity to meet and talk to engineers about where they work, what they do, and how to become an engineer. By the end of the day, both students and volunteers learn some of the basic concepts that are used by engineers and scientists every day.
