SWE+outreach+evaluations

[|University of Pittsurgh] static cling, cup and string, and Lego activities. Students used balloons, salt, and pepper to learn about static electricity. In the cup and string activity, students learned about how sound travels over distances. In the Lego activity, students got to act as civil engineers and build Lego towers. After a snack time for the students, and a parent presentation for the parents, the parents and students rotated through the pinwheel, paper table, and marshmallow sling shot activities. Before or after all of the experiments and crafts, the science and engineering principles behind the activity were explained to the students by the activity leader. The pinwheel activity gave students the opportunity to learn about wind energy by making a pinwheel to model a wind turbine. The goal of the paper table is to make a table that is as tall as possible and strong enough to hold a book using only newspaper. The kids and parents can experiment with how rolling the paper makes a stronger tube. Lastly for the marshmallow sling shot activity, students and parents were given a variety of supplies including cardboard, toothpicks, forks, and spoons to build a slingshot for marshmallows. The goal of the slingshot was to knock down a tower of cups and learn about the difference between kinetic and potential energy.