Read the full story by Anna Fiorentino, published by Thayer School of Engineering.
This summer at Dartmouth’s pilot engineering workshop “Design it. Build it.,” local high school students made the stuff of their dreams—longboards, robots, electric guitars, and telescopes.
Associate Professor of Engineering Vicki May, second from left, works with students during the “Design it. Build it.” workshop. (Photo by Kathryn LoConte Lapierre)
“I have been working with local K through 12 teachers for several years—they have been telling me for a while they wish students had more opportunities to better their understanding of engineering,” says Engineering Professor Vicki May, who ran the two-week workshop. “Dean Joseph Helble has also been interested in offering summer programs for K through 12 students, and this summer it all finally came together.”
May, along with fellow Dartmouth engineering professors Peter Robbie, John Collier, Jason Stauth, and Christopher Levey, as well as Thayer Design Fellow Annie Saunders ’12, Thayer ’13, and others, facilitated a mix of mini-lectures on engineering and computer-aided design (CAD) and machining to 32 students and two local teachers. Students built spinning tops, gliders, 3D puzzles, wind turbine blades, ping pong carriers, and hydraulic machines.