SEP Session 1, Day 2 (5-8)

Each day, we will feature several courses. Throughout the session, we will feature as many courses as possible.

Today in, "Engineering Hogwarts" students worked in groups to redesign Hogwarts for the modern witch/wizard. Students thought about the needs of a modern witch/wizard and how to incorporate these needs into their design. Groups then presented their designs to their classmates and received feedback on their designs.

Groups had many wonderful ideas, including creating a virtual reality training space and changing the layout of classrooms. A few groups even redesigned the Hogwarts uniform!

Students also worked in groups to begin thinking about their final project. In their final project, they will be asked to produce a science-fiction book or movie. Their final product will be either a book summary + 1st chapter (read aloud) or act out a scene from the movie. They will then invent, design, and build a device that could help a character in their book/movie.

What is balance? In "Life is a Balancing Act", students are challenged to define the term 'balance' and apply it to life. Students were debating various definitions like "level or equal" and "healthy amount of doing something" before reading the Merriam-Webster definition, "physical equilibrium."  Additionally, students evaluated the amount of balance in their own lives. The rest of class was spent rotating through seven Balance Stations structured using The Engineering Design Process or cycle of "Ask --> Imagine --> Plan --> Create --> Improve --> Repeat." Each of the Balance Stations challenged students to recognize and manipulate balancing various objects in differing scenarios. Examples of some of the stations were Zipline Yoda, Balancing Robot, and Clown on a Tightrope among others.

Best,

Nicole, Olivia, and Abby