|
On the cutting
edge of design curricula, the EPICS Program at the Colorado School of Mines
(Engineering Practices Introductory Course Sequence) invites high school students
to attend a weeklong summer camp on the Mines campus in Golden, Colorado. The
objective of the camp is to guide participants through a fun and rewarding hands-on
experience of authentic engineering design practices.
How
will high school students experience this process?
Participants
will follow a condensed form of a management sequence for engineering design.
They will spend two days creating a conceptual design for a specific device.
Guidance will focus on the visualization, team formation and project documentation
to demonstrate the feasibility of their devices. This phase will culminate with
a management design review to sign off on their drawings. For the next two days,
they will create, model, and refine their device prior to building a test prototype
to compete in the challenge. Following construction, they will undergo a readiness
review to assure their device meets project specifications. On the final day,
teams will compete in oral and marketing presentations as part of the final
exhibition of the team’s product. The product will conclude with a ceremony
celebrating the successes of all participants.
What
is the value of such an experienc
e?
Engineering
Design is a means to solving open-ended problems. It is a life skill that can
be applied to many other situations – not just the technical world of
engineering. Students will be challenged to invent, to create, to design, and
to build. They will experience the satisfaction of an exciting activity, resulting
in their very own unique product. They will learn to listen to and to respect
the ideas of their teammates. And most of all, they will learn the confidence
to resolve their own open-ended problems, and the ability to apply engineering
concepts to them.
Contact
303-273-3592
Design
(EPICS) Division
| 
