Making magnetic levitation vehicles? Creating catapults to hit a target? Testing structural integrity of towers? One might think these are university-level projects. In reality? They’re just a day in the life of a camper at the Burns & McDonnell Engineering Camp!
Last week, seven Burns & Mac employees, six interns, and 40 middle school students gathered over the course of four days for Burns & McDonnell Engineering Camp at my home turf, the Blue Valley Center for Advanced Professional Studies (CAPS). Students were separated into three teams, each with an employee and an intern as a mentor. The week included challenging engineering competitions with points awarded for top finishers, with the ultimate goal of being named the best in camp by the end of the week and winning the 1st place team plaque.
From day one, students were immersed into engineering with challenges that a real engineer would face, including limited materials, short time frames, and working with a team. I was so impressed by the talent that these students possessed in design and construction as I watched them build magnetic levitation cars, load-bearing playing card structures, wind energy farms, water rockets, and ping pong ball catapults.
I was so excited for the chance to be a mentor to these students, because not long ago I was in their shoes. I always had an interest in math and science, but it wasn’t until this past year as a senior in the high school CAPS program that I found my passion for engineering and how much fun it can be. It was an honor to return to CAPS to help these kids discover what engineering really is about.
Throughout camp, I had the opportunity to get to know the students and see how they worked together. It was in one of the girls that I really saw myself. She came into camp as the shy one who seemed a little unsure of herself, but throughout the week I saw that completely turn around. I could see the wheels turning as she planned how to solve problems and she began to take leadership in the groups. By the end of the week, she had placed in three of the competitions and seemed to find a confidence she didn’t have before. I only wish that I would have had a camp like this when I was in middle school.
The engineering camp was about learning and making things—but it was also about discovery, too. Many students had a chance to find the areas in which they excelled and also learned how to improve when the vehicles wouldn’t run or the windmills fell apart the first time around. My hope is that, through this week, my fellow interns and the Burns & McDonnell employees inspired these future engineers and that we see some of them back here someday!
Gaby Lobo is an Industrial Engineering student at Kansas State University and one of our summer interns! One of her goals during her internship? To learn more about project management and meet other students with similar interests. Follow along with Gaby and some of our other summer interns at The Burns & McDonnell Intern Experience.
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