Some of our recent School visits and Community Outreach events are listed below!
May 15, Branchburg Central Middle School, Shark Tank/STEAM Tank - MES participated as one of six “Shark’s” in the Branchburg Central Middle School’s “Shark Tank/STEAM Tank” review of the hands-on projects made by Teams of 8th Graders since September 2022! Student Teams’ presented their impressively clever inventions to the “Sharks” and at least one hundred of their fellow classmates. It was a tough decision to select the winner!
May 10, JFK Elementary School, Raritan - STEM Night, MES participated by showcasing the Windmill made by the JFK 3rd and 4th graders March 28,30 and April 4 and 5!
April 26, 26, and 28, Tewksbury Elementary School, Completed a three-day hands-on project for “Discovery, Invention, and Innovation” requested by the Tewksbury Elementary school to support a new curriculum program from the State. Presented to three 2nd-grade classes. Thanks to excellent support by the teachers it was a success!
The students were brimming with curiosity and enthusiasm and participated in all demos!!
March 28, 30, and April 4,5, JFK Elementary School – “Windmill Project” – MES worked with ten 4th and 3rd graders to make a Windmill as a “prize” participant resulting from the STEM Day. The Windmill was constructed in an afterschool setting over four afternoons.
March 15, 2023: Engineering Career Night at Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC), Participated in a panel of ten Industry Engineers where we each met with prospective students to answer student questions about Engineering in school and in Industry. Also this was a great opportunity to introduce the Authentic Engineering Experience projects for Fall 2023 to interested students.
March 13, 2023: Tewksbury, Old Turnpike School - 6th Grade, Engaged four 6th Grade classes in hands-on exploration of magnetic and electric fields, including the visualization of magnetic fields, feeling the attractive and repulsive forces of magnets, using magnet fields to make electricity (!), measuring the electric fields created by the contracting of the students arm muscles (!), and discussing and participating in the similarities and differences between Science and Engineering!
February 23, 2023: Picatinny Arsenal - Introduce a Girl to Engineering Outreach Event, MES both supported the Raritan Valley Community College (RVCC) Engineering Program outreach and engaged visiting students in hands-on “How to Make Electricity” and Career Outreach, discussing the similarities and differences between Science and Engineering, and of the many exciting careers in their futures.
February 4, 2022: Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District “STEM Day”
RVCC Society for Women Engineers (SWE) continued their community outreach by participating, with Main Engine Start, in the Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District “STEM Day” held for the first time at the JFK Elementary School in Raritan, New Jersey.
Organized by JFK Elementary School Teachers Wayne Segal and Maria Caiola, the STEM Day was a great success with 250 children participating and including STEM demonstrations including Robotics, Circuits, Hydroponics, Fossils, Energy Generation, Renewable Energy, Pollinators – and the list goes on. Over 600 people in total attended including children, parents, school district faculty and staff, and over 50 student volunteers from the High School.
The RVCC SWE participants engaged students with hands-on demonstrations of electrical energy generation using magnets and coils of copper wire and about 50 children went home with their own “make and take” energy generators made from a straw, copper wire, and magnet, and a LED light. Additionally, the SWE members showed children how electrical energy is made using solar, wind, and even how to make electricity using an apple and a strip of copper and zinc metal!
The RVCC SWE participants included Madelyn Andrade Cajamarca, Melissa Armenta-Quiroz, and Jimena Torres . Also, the help of three High School Student Volunteers was invaluable in making the demonstrations a success!!
February 2, 2023: Franklin Middle School, Grades 6, 7, and 8, Hands-on “How to Make Electricity” and Career Outreach, discussing the similarities and differences between Science and Engineering, and of the many exciting careers in their futures. MES participated in support of the RVCC STEM Career Outreach program.
December 12, 2022: Delaware Township School, Grade 7, Hands-on “How to Make Electricity” and Career Outreach, discussing the similarities and differences between Science and Engineering, and of the many exciting careers in their futures.
December 5, 2022: Delaware Township School, Grade 8, Hands-on “How to Make Electricity” and Career Outreach, discussing the similarities and differences between Science and Engineering, and of the many exciting careers in their futures. MES participated in support of the RVCC STEM Career Outreach program.
December 1, 2022: Tewksbury Elementary School “STEM Night” - Students were engaged in the “How to Make Electricity” hands-on demonstration and explored “Wind Power” using MES-supplied hand-held windmills.
November 21, 2022: Branchburg Central Middle School, Evaluation of 8th grade student’s plans to create hands-on projects targeted to solve real world problems. MES participated in support of the RVCC STEM Career Outreach program.
October 1, 2022: Raritan Valley Science & Technology Showcase (RVSTS) held at the Bridgewater Mall
Members of MES and the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Collegiate Affiliate at Raritan Valley Community College presented their “How to Make Electricity” hands-on demonstration to more than 100 families and their children.
Carrying simple copper coils, magnets, and several LED lights, the SWE members fanned out through the families attending the RVSTS and worked with one family at a time to engage their children to make electricity by pulling the magnet through the coil of copper wire and causing the LED lights to illuminate. The enthusiasm of the SWE members and the “flash” of light produced from the LED lights never failed to bring a smile and expression of wonder to the faces of the participating children.
