Today was our first day at Bronx High School of Science! After an early subway ride and a bit of walking, we found our way to the school. Over the next three days we are working with one digital engineering class, and 8 intro to engineering classes. Today, we did three different activities in the various classes. The first activity was part one of two of a materials testing experiment. The students used plastic rods, and Popsicle sticks to make a bridge. Each group tested their bridge structure to see how the plastic rod deformed as the load increased. With polarizing lenses, the students were able to look at the stress of the rod, which was exciting for the students! The second activity that we did with a few of the classes, was the start of a project where they will be designing and creating a tire tread that will reduce hydroplaning. In groups, they had to draft a design and present their design to the class. Stay tomorrow for when they will be building their designs out of clay. The final activity that we did in the classes was focused on LEAN manufacturing. Students were in groups of 6 and had to assembly a LEGO car as quick and as efficient as possible.

We stayed quite busy with all of the activities and the short 40 minute periods. It was great getting to meet all of the students today and I am excited to get to work with them for the rest of the week! On a random side note, a few of the members of our group have decided to call me “Nataue” instead of Natalie. This morning, we had to check in and get visitor passes and mine read Nataue. Guess people liked it enough that it stuck throughout the day. We’ll see if it stays the rest of the week.

After reviewing the activities that we did today and preparing for tomorrow, we headed back to the hotel for some rest and a few people did a little bit of adventuring around the city before dinner. I decided to relax a bit and then we went to Gotham West Market for dinner. It was delicious! To combat all of the food we ate, a few of walked around the city to check out Rockefeller Center. Overall, it was a great day and I can’t wait for the outreach activities to continue!