On Friday, November 1st, fifty students in the 4th-6th grades from the Mary Lyon K-8 School came to campus to learn about natural disasters. The students started by developing disaster plans and emergency kits for a variety of natural disasters prevalent in Massachusetts, including fires, hurricanes, snowstorms, and heat waves.
Sample of Student Disaster Plan and Emergency Kit for a Blizzard
The students then learned more about the engineering design process (EDP) and the role of engineers, specifically civil and environmental engineering (CEE).
Following the EDP presentation, they were tasked to design, build, and test a deployable levee to protect against flooding. The students were given a $10 budget and a choice of materials such as cotton balls, sand, duct tape, and cardboard to build their levee with. Levees were tested and evaluated based on cost and duration that the flooding was blocked. Students were then allowed to redesign and rebuild, with most groups seeing improvements from their first design.
Students Learning About the EDP
Levee Design Testing
During lunch, students had the opportunity to ask questions about college to a panel of our volunteers, covering topics like classes, sports teams, clubs, and living on campus. The day concluded with a tour of the Northeastern campus.
College 101 Panel
Thank you to the Mary Lyon School for visiting us!
