Twenty-three Oxford Middle School eighth-graders got to experience what it’s like to take engineering classes at the high school last week thanks to the Square One Education Network Senior Capstone Design Class.
The students used computer-aided design software to solve a problem, built a rubber band-powered vehicle and got to play around with five robots built by TORC Team 2137.
Teacher Phil Kimmel explained the OHS senior capstone design class received a $3,000 grant from the Waterford-based Square One Education Network.
Most of the money was used to help build an electric vehicle to race on Belle Isle in Detroit (more on that next week). However, 10 percent of the grant had to be used for a community outreach event designed to increase younger students? awareness and interest in science, technology, engineering and math.
Hence last week’s special after-school visit from OMS eighth-graders.
‘We want to grow the numbers in our engineering program,? Kimmel explained. ‘What better way to do that than something that gets the eighth-graders, who will be coming here next year, involved. We want to make this an annual event.?