Night at the Science Center: How Cool Is That?
CBIA writer/editor
On Friday, Jan. 8, 2010, more than 150 freshmen and sophomores from Wilby High School in Waterbury, New Britain High School, and East Hartford High School kicked off the Connecticut Business & Industry Association’s “How Cool Is This?” Cyber-Challenge by spending the night at the Connecticut Science Center in Hartford.
Cyber-Challenge is a four-month multimedia project that brings ninth and tenth grade students from various high schools together to solve real-world problems facing Connecticut's aerospace, bioscience, and energy industries. The goal is to spark students' interest and achievement in English, math, and science and prepare them for rigorous Advanced Placement (AP) courses as juniors. (Participating Cyber-Challenge schools also take part in Project Opening Doors, a program that supports eleventh and twelfth grade students taking AP courses.)
“The overnight event sparked a desire in students to really challenge themselves academically,” says Lauren Weisberg Kaufman, CBIA education specialist. "It showed them the connection between their high school classes and future success.“
The sleepover kicked off with icebreaker activities that introduced students to their teammates from other schools. Working in interschool teams, students spent the night touring a gallery of exhibits sponsored by General Electric, United Technologies Corp., Northeast Utilities, and Pfizer—Cyber-Challenge's four industry partners. Exhibits formed the basis of hands-on experiments that required teams to think critically and collaboratively and present their findings the following morning.
Experiments included using brain-wave monitors to determine what combinations of smells, sights, sounds, and tactile experiences induced the greatest feelings of calm in human subjects; designing the smallest, lightest, lowest-g-level helmet; building dams out of plastic "sand," stones, piping, building blocks, and other materials to generate the most electricity; manipulating mazes that allow a ball to travel down a ramp at the slowest possible speed without stopping; retrofitting wooden block "cars" to be most aerodynamic and create the least drag; and creating the heaviest objects that can stay afloat in slow-moving air or heliflyers that can float the highest in fast-moving air.
Representatives from GE, NU, Pfizer, and UTC were on hand Saturday to respond to students' presentations, share information about their own industry challenges, and introduce students to the types of problems they would be tackling over the duration of the Cyber-Challenge.
“All of our business partners are very excited about this project,” says Judy Resnick, executive director of CBIA's Education Foundation. “It gives them an opportunity to help students gain a greater understanding and appreciation of the science and math behind real-world issues.”
Cyber-Challenge is funded by the National Science Foundation’s Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) grant, administered by CBIA in collaboration with the Connecticut Science Center, the Connecticut Community Colleges' Regional Center for Next Generation Manufacturing, and EASTCONN, a Hampton-based nonprofit Regional Educational Service Center that is providing professional development and technology solutions for participating Cyber-Challenge teachers.
