Workshops
Below is a list of workshops often used in the program.
Students will use a variety of materials to design and build a cantilever beam. Their challenge is to design and build the longest overhanging structure which supports a 100 gram mass suspended at the far end.
Chocolate Asphalt
The process of making asphalt cookies parallels the procedures used to produce asphalt pavements. During this workshop the similarities between using a hot liquid added to a variety of dry ingredients that are mixed together, cools, hardens, and gains strength, just like the asphalt process, only this type is edible.Rocket Car
Explore the principles of aerodynamics and Newton’s laws of motion. Students will construct a balloon powered rocket car from simple materials. They will test their design and compete in the UConn 500.
Students will explore the chemistry of polymer science. You will reverse engineer a diaper and then cross-link a polymer and observe the changes in the physical properties as a result of this cross-linking.
Students will learn how to code variables, user inputs, and conditional statements to hypothetically launch a rocket. They will also decrypt a secret message that is written in binary code.
Students will string together a number of lemons with wire and see the shocking results! In this workshop, students will construct simple galvanic cells using lemons, copper, zinc and aluminum electrodes. Basic electronic principles will be introduced; batteries, light emitting diodes (LEDs), series and parallel circuits, volts, amperes, and much more.
Students will build a robotic hand from common materials such as drinking straws, plywood string, and hose washers. This process relates to the similar problem solving that biomedical engineers engage in while creating prosthetic devices. Their objective is to build a hand that can hold a ping pong ball.
Take a swim with us to the Gulf Coast to learn about the oil spill! Students will learn about the effects of the spill on the environment and why it was so hard to recover from this disaster. (Warning: Rubber ducks will be included).
Students will learn procedures to extract the DNA of strawberries. They will take a close look at how DNA can be extracted from fruit to become biochemical engineers for the day!
Come discover if electricity and magnetism are related. This workshop will have the participants replicate Hans Oersted’s famous discovery of 1820 and then build a working electric motor. Lenz’s Law along with a number of other E&M activities are demonstrated.
This workshop explores what happens to materials when temperature is changed. You will see what happens when different materials are frozen to almost 200oF below freezing as well as other materials at extremely high temperatures. You’ll also get to play with a superconductor, see what a shape memory alloy is, and get to eat frozen marshmallows!
What does “Going Green” really mean and what can we do about it? Learn about the importance of wind power and what it can actually do. In this workshop each student will create a turbine blade and make their own “windmill”. All wind turbines will be tested for performance to determine how much energy it can actually convert!
Students will learn that 3D printing is the future of manufacturing! They will get to experience additive manufacturing while using hot glue to demonstrate 3D modelling software. The girls will get to take home their own hand made project!
Step into the world of Environmental Engineering and help us solve one of the most common environmental challenges facing the world today! In this workshop, students simulate an oil spill and experiment with the different methods of cleaning up oil from water. Participants will learn the science behind what makes oil so difficult to clean up and the processes used to prevent, control and repair this kind of environmental damage.
Ever dreamed about working on a rocket? In this workshop, students will delve into the engineering behind spacecrafts and will participate in a hands-on activity where they create their very own.
Leap into the field of physics in this workshop as we learn about the multifaceted Leonardo DaVinci and the physics behind one of his most iconic creations - the DaVinci Bridge. Students will explore how tension, compression, and force combine to support this bridge and put these learnings into practice to build a small scale model of their own.
In this workshop, students will get a glimpse into the world of chemical engineering and create bath bombs, fizzy soap-molds that dissolve in water. During this fan-favorite demo, our participants will learn how the scientific principles are put into practice to create everyday products like bath bombs!
During the Gold Mining Challenge, our MYO participants will learn all about what makes mine engineering so vital to us as humans, and in contrast, ways in which it can be harmful to the environment. Students will design a gold mining apparatus, construct their machines and test these creations!
In this Computer Science and game design workshop, students will utilize the Scratch software and be introduced to, if they have not already, the logical thought process required to code. They will do this by coding their very own car racing game!