NEW HAVEN, Conn. (February 27, 2014) – Held annually in February, Engineers Week is an event designed to increase understanding and interest in careers in science and engineering. In honor of this event, several DTC engineers visited the 6th graders of Bishop Woods Executive Academy in New Haven to teach them about engineering and compete in a series of tasks called “The Engineering Olympics.”

“Having professionals come in from the community is exciting for students because it creates a connection between their education and real world careers,” said School Business Partnership Coordinator Cara Campo.

The engineers, Lauren Coles, Rebecca Ford, Sean Laudati, Wedney Morgan, Cody Savoy and Brian Skelcher, all come from different engineering disciplines – civil, structural, electrical, and mechanical. Each volunteer hoped that by breaking down the different fields, students would be able to see where their interests might overlap.

“In my experience a lot of kids don’t know what engineers do, so this event is a great way to show them how cool and exciting engineering is,” Ford said. “If they’re interested in what we show them, then they can pursue careers in engineering, too.”

The students were then grouped into six teams to compete head-to-head in two hands-on activities referred to as the Engineering Olympics.

The events were:
1. Build a Bridge – students created a bridge using only raw pasta and marshmallows. The bridge that could support the most weight was declared the winner.
2. Paper Airplane Challenge – the students made airplanes using only paper. The plane that flew the farthest distance won.

At end of the competition, all students were awarded Most Valuable Player certificates for their participation.

Bishop Woods Executive Academy is a Kindergarten through 8th grade school located on Quinnipiac Avenue in New Haven. The school, which is a New Haven Public School, is focused on college and career readiness for the 21st Century. To learn more, visit their website, www.bishopwoodsschool.com.

Engineers Week was founded in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE). To learn more, visit http://www.discovere.org/.