SET Update

Middle schoolers Keira, Ashley,
Lily and Delaney built a bridge
out of spaghetti, glue & tape for
SET (Science, Engineering and
Technology) class.

With the help of several visiting engineers recently, the Science, Engineering and Technology classes built lots of bridges. They first experimented with load-bearing shapes (arches, rectangles and triangles) by making trusses out of drinking straws. Each group’s practice bridge was followed up by a bridge constructed of spaghetti. The strongest bridge was able to hold over 6 gallons of water. In fact, Mrs. Lamare had to stand on the bridge to break it!

Students also invented a self-propelled vehicle using only an index card, 2 straws, 2 pick-up sticks, one balloon, four bottle caps and some tape. This was an interesting challenge that produced some very fast (and some pathetically slow) vehicles.

UT’s Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day is Saturday, February 23, 2008 2 – 5 p.m. Registration is open! This is an award winning program, celebrated internationally during Engineers Week, that features hands-on engineering activities and demonstrations facilitated by over 200 student volunteers. More than 1,000 Austin area 1st-8th grade students are expected. Register now because spaces fill up fast. For more information, please visit the UT Women in Engineering Program.

Careers in Engineering For Women (CEW) is a weeklong summer camp for middle school girls designed to increase the representation of women in engineering and technical fields. It will be held June 8-14, 2008 at the University of Texas at Austin campus. CEW is an outreach program currently organized and directed by the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) at the University of Texas at Austin. The deadline to submit an application is January 31, 2008. For more information and to download an application, please visit the UT Society of Women Engineers.