Greetings from Walchandnagar! Today marked our second day at of the camp. We started our morning bright and early at 7:30 am with some lovely yoga provided by one of the school teachers. The breathing exercises were invigorating and provided us with a refreshed body and mind for the day.

This morning we implemented two activities with the students. The first was an activity called “Seismic Shake-Up”, created by myself and Kate. In this activity, the students made small structures to be tested on shake table or as we like to call it “Earthquake Kate!”. The kids were all smiles as their structures withstood the force of an earthquake. We also had quite a few unique designs throughout the morning ranging from towers and columns, to frames and truss systems! The second activity was titled “Clearing a Pathway to the Heart” presented by Erika and Kathy. For this activity, the students designed a system to flatten out make-shift plaque stuck in an artery. Finally, we finished up the with a “Lean Manufacturing” activity geared towards optimizing the most efficient way to build a small Lego car set. Overall, the kids had a wonderful time! They are all so incredibly smart and creative. Their passion and excitement for science is contagious!

We had another teacher interaction session in the afternoon in which we presented on the admissions process for American colleges and the University of Michigan. Additionally, the teachers presented information on the caste system used in India. It was a very interesting discussion and was nice to hear firsthand how this system is used and affects the live of Indian citizens on a daily basis.

We also took an adventure across the street to a very fancy bungalow belonging to the director of the factory in town. Aside from the incredible home, the surrounding grounds are equally impressive. They have bunnies and huge ducks in the yard! Stay tuned as we continue our week with the students in Walchandnagar!