Engineering exploration workshops (60 min) in which professionals lead an activity (pre-designed by engineering professionals) to learn about different skills or experiences that are relevant to specific engineering fields
WORKSHOP SESSION 1 (9:25-10:25)
Explorations in Coding
Location: 641, Facilitator: Lisa Maddux
Note: the attendees can do this workshop more than once because they have the option each time of exploring a different coding area.
Join us for an Hour of Code! Participants have the option to explore coding in 3 different areas: 1: digital art - code pixels into shapes and patterns to create beautiful artworks, 2: virtual worlds - create three dimensional objects using code, 3: web design - learn the basics of creating a website! This workshop is for all levels and can be attended more than once. No experience necessary!
Social Networking is Science Too!
Location: 642, Facilitator: Carolina Bañuelos
If you like social media networks, you will love social network analysis (SNA)! Social network analysts study how interactions and relationships impact our everyday lives. SNA is used in social sciences, natural sciences, business, education, and even your Pandora or Spotify station! In this workshop, you will be introduced to SNA by completing and analyzing a network map of your own.
Stepping into 3D Construction: Augmented & Virtual Reality
Location: 644, Facilitator: Jill Bubenik
The workshop will explore the world of construction through the use of 3D technology. The class will be broken into teams and will be given a 3D model that the groups will have to walk through using VR technology. The students will be given an exercise that is similar to what the construction team is faced with every day. The group will also get a chance to play with the HoloLens, another way to see a project in its 3D environment using holograms. The class will also discuss the importance of modeling in 3D and the benefits of using Drones in the field. Throughout the class the students will be given the opportunity to ask plenty of questions and just have a fun time!
Bake a Spacecraft
Location: 645, Facilitator: Lynette Lobmeyer
Space is a very extreme place. It gets very hot and very cold. When we build spacecraft to operate in outer space we have to use special blankets to protect our telescopes inside the spacecraft. Design your own spacecraft’s insulation and then try baking it- see if you can protect your telescope from melting.
Curing Cancer & Designer Babies: Sounds Good... Right?
Location: 648, Facilitator: Margaret Gruca
Many people have heard of scientific terms such as “Next-Generation Sequencing”, medically coined terms such as “personalized medicine”, and, more infamously, the public media term “CRISPR babies”. However, very few people understand the field which has revolutionized modern genomic research and personalized therapeutics. Bioinformatics encompasses the fields of biochemistry, computer science, genetics, molecular biology, statistics, engineering, and math. In other words, to work in this field, you become a jack of all trades – a master of none but an expert at all. In this workshop, you will learn a little about all of these fields through the lens of nascent RNA sequencing analysis using next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques in such a way that you could go home and teach your grandparents. Hopefully, you will also gain a deeper appreciation for the challenges that we face both socially and scientifically in the coming decades.
Blaster’s Boat Challenge
Location: 649, Facilitator: Bomsaerah Seong
Given various materials, participants will compete to see which team can build the boat that travels the furthest, echoing an annual competition beloved by Mines students. Students will define the problem, brainstorm, develop and prototype, test, refine the prototype, then compete. This activity will address engineering design challenges related to topics such as mechanical structure, materials engineering, surface tension, and more.
Location: 641, Facilitator: Lisa Maddux
Note: the attendees can do this workshop more than once because they have the option each time of exploring a different coding area.
Join us for an Hour of Code! Participants have the option to explore coding in 3 different areas: 1: digital art - code pixels into shapes and patterns to create beautiful artworks, 2: virtual worlds - create three dimensional objects using code, 3: web design - learn the basics of creating a website! This workshop is for all levels and can be attended more than once. No experience necessary!
Social Networking is Science Too!
Location: 642, Facilitator: Carolina Bañuelos
If you like social media networks, you will love social network analysis (SNA)! Social network analysts study how interactions and relationships impact our everyday lives. SNA is used in social sciences, natural sciences, business, education, and even your Pandora or Spotify station! In this workshop, you will be introduced to SNA by completing and analyzing a network map of your own.
Stepping into 3D Construction: Augmented & Virtual Reality
Location: 644, Facilitator: Jill Bubenik
The workshop will explore the world of construction through the use of 3D technology. The class will be broken into teams and will be given a 3D model that the groups will have to walk through using VR technology. The students will be given an exercise that is similar to what the construction team is faced with every day. The group will also get a chance to play with the HoloLens, another way to see a project in its 3D environment using holograms. The class will also discuss the importance of modeling in 3D and the benefits of using Drones in the field. Throughout the class the students will be given the opportunity to ask plenty of questions and just have a fun time!
Bake a Spacecraft
Location: 645, Facilitator: Lynette Lobmeyer
Space is a very extreme place. It gets very hot and very cold. When we build spacecraft to operate in outer space we have to use special blankets to protect our telescopes inside the spacecraft. Design your own spacecraft’s insulation and then try baking it- see if you can protect your telescope from melting.
Curing Cancer & Designer Babies: Sounds Good... Right?
Location: 648, Facilitator: Margaret Gruca
Many people have heard of scientific terms such as “Next-Generation Sequencing”, medically coined terms such as “personalized medicine”, and, more infamously, the public media term “CRISPR babies”. However, very few people understand the field which has revolutionized modern genomic research and personalized therapeutics. Bioinformatics encompasses the fields of biochemistry, computer science, genetics, molecular biology, statistics, engineering, and math. In other words, to work in this field, you become a jack of all trades – a master of none but an expert at all. In this workshop, you will learn a little about all of these fields through the lens of nascent RNA sequencing analysis using next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques in such a way that you could go home and teach your grandparents. Hopefully, you will also gain a deeper appreciation for the challenges that we face both socially and scientifically in the coming decades.
Blaster’s Boat Challenge
Location: 649, Facilitator: Bomsaerah Seong
Given various materials, participants will compete to see which team can build the boat that travels the furthest, echoing an annual competition beloved by Mines students. Students will define the problem, brainstorm, develop and prototype, test, refine the prototype, then compete. This activity will address engineering design challenges related to topics such as mechanical structure, materials engineering, surface tension, and more.
WORKSHOP SESSION 2 (11:55-12:55)
Explorations in Coding
Location: 641, Facilitator: Lisa Maddux
Note: the attendees can do this workshop more than once because they have the option each time of exploring a different coding area.
Join us for an Hour of Code! Participants have the option to explore coding in 3 different areas: 1: digital art - code pixels into shapes and patterns to create beautiful artworks, 2: virtual worlds - create three dimensional objects using code, 3: web design - learn the basics of creating a website! This workshop is for all levels and can be attended more than once. No experience necessary!
Counting on Birds: Techniques used to Understand and Conserve Bird Populations
Location: 642, Facilitator: Sarah Doxon
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to study wildlife? Join us to get a glimpse of a day in the life of an avian (bird) biologist! We will learn about methods biologists use to gather information needed to conserve wildlife populations through hands-on activities such as radio telemetry tracking and point count surveys. We’ll also use mark-recapture methods to answer the eternal question of “how many M&Ms are in the jar?”
Stepping into 3D Construction: Augmented & Virtual Reality
Location: 644, Facilitator: Jill Bubenik
The workshop will explore the world of construction through the use of 3D technology. The class will be broken into teams and will be given a 3D model that the groups will have to walk through using VR technology. The students will be given an exercise that is similar to what the construction team is faced with every day. The group will also get a chance to play with the HoloLens, another way to see a project in its 3D environment using holograms. The class will also discuss the importance of modeling in 3D and the benefits of using Drones in the field. Throughout the class the students will be given the opportunity to ask plenty of questions and just have a fun time!
Bake a Spacecraft
Location: 645, Facilitator: Lynette Lobmeyer
Space is a very extreme place. It gets very hot and very cold. When we build spacecraft to operate in outer space we have to use special blankets to protect our telescopes inside the spacecraft. Design your own spacecraft’s insulation and then try baking it- see if you can protect your telescope from melting.
Curing Cancer & Designer Babies: Sounds Good... Right?
Location: 648, Facilitator: Margaret Gruca
Many people have heard of scientific terms such as “Next-Generation Sequencing”, medically coined terms such as “personalized medicine”, and, more infamously, the public media term “CRISPR babies”. However, very few people understand the field which has revolutionized modern genomic research and personalized therapeutics. Bioinformatics encompasses the fields of biochemistry, computer science, genetics, molecular biology, statistics, engineering, and math. In other words, to work in this field, you become a jack of all trades – a master of none but an expert at all. In this workshop, you will learn a little about all of these fields through the lens of nascent RNA sequencing analysis using next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques in such a way that you could go home and teach your grandparents. Hopefully, you will also gain a deeper appreciation for the challenges that we face both socially and scientifically in the coming decades.
Poo to Power: Exploring Waste Water Heat Recovery
Location: 649, Facilitator: Teena Bergstrand
Did you know that you can heat and cool buildings using waste water pipes? Students will participate in a thermal energy experiment by measuring the heat transfer from copper pipes to a surrounding pool of water. Additionally, the facilitators will introduce the students to the upcoming Campus Energy System at the National Western Center.
Disease Detectives - Tracking Down the Origin of an Outbreak
Location: small gym, Facilitator: Aspen King
Each year, as many as 200,000 people (in the United States alone) are hospitalized for flu-related complications. In order to keep people healthy, public health professionals work closely with a range of specialists such as epidemiologists, medical specialists, virologists, and immunologists. In this workshop, we will simulate a flu pandemic. You will work as a "disease detective" to determine where the outbreak started and how to control it in order to keep more people from getting sick.
WORKSHOP SESSION 3 (1:45-2:45)
Explorations in Coding
Location: 641, Facilitator: Lisa Maddux
Note: the attendees can do this workshop more than once because they have the option each time of exploring a different coding area.
Join us for an Hour of Code! Participants have the option to explore coding in 3 different areas: 1: digital art - code pixels into shapes and patterns to create beautiful artworks, 2: virtual worlds - create three dimensional objects using code, 3: web design - learn the basics of creating a website! This workshop is for all levels and can be attended more than once. No experience necessary!
Counting on Birds: Techniques used to Understand and Conserve Bird Populations
Location: 642, Facilitator: Sarah Doxon
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to study wildlife? Join us to get a glimpse of a day in the life of an avian (bird) biologist! We will learn about methods biologists use to gather information needed to conserve wildlife populations through hands-on activities such as radio telemetry tracking and point count surveys. We’ll also use mark-recapture methods to answer the eternal question of “how many M&Ms are in the jar?”
Stepping into 3D Construction: Augmented & Virtual Reality
Location: 644, Facilitator: Jill Bubenik
The workshop will explore the world of construction through the use of 3D technology. The class will be broken into teams and will be given a 3D model that the groups will have to walk through using VR technology. The students will be given an exercise that is similar to what the construction team is faced with every day. The group will also get a chance to play with the HoloLens, another way to see a project in its 3D environment using holograms. The class will also discuss the importance of modeling in 3D and the benefits of using Drones in the field. Throughout the class the students will be given the opportunity to ask plenty of questions and just have a fun time!
Bake a Spacecraft
Location: 645, Facilitator: Lynette Lobmeyer
Space is a very extreme place. It gets very hot and very cold. When we build spacecraft to operate in outer space we have to use special blankets to protect our telescopes inside the spacecraft. Design your own spacecraft’s insulation and then try baking it- see if you can protect your telescope from melting.
Curing Cancer & Designer Babies: Sounds Good... Right?
Location: 648, Facilitator: Margaret Gruca
Many people have heard of scientific terms such as “Next-Generation Sequencing”, medically coined terms such as “personalized medicine”, and, more infamously, the public media term “CRISPR babies”. However, very few people understand the field which has revolutionized modern genomic research and personalized therapeutics. Bioinformatics encompasses the fields of biochemistry, computer science, genetics, molecular biology, statistics, engineering, and math. In other words, to work in this field, you become a jack of all trades – a master of none but an expert at all. In this workshop, you will learn a little about all of these fields through the lens of nascent RNA sequencing analysis using next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques in such a way that you could go home and teach your grandparents. Hopefully, you will also gain a deeper appreciation for the challenges that we face both socially and scientifically in the coming decades.
Poo to Power: Exploring Waste Water Heat Recovery
Location: 649, Facilitator: Teena Bergstrand
Did you know that you can heat and cool buildings using waste water pipes? Students will participate in a thermal energy experiment by measuring the heat transfer from copper pipes to a surrounding pool of water. Additionally, the facilitators will introduce the students to the upcoming Campus Energy System at the National Western Center.g.
Wind at Your Fingertips
Location: small gym, Facilitator: Liz McMaster
Come hangout with women engineers from the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) and participate in a fun hands-on activity on wind energy!