This past Saturday, SWE helped with the School of Engineering open house which was part of UNM senior day. UNM senior day is an opportunity for high school students and other community members from Albuquerque to tour the campus and get a sense of what its like to be a student here. The Centennial Engineering Center was filled with booths and demonstrations for the event. Each engineering academic department was represented as well as numerous engineering student clubs and organizations. Some students led tours of different engineering labs. SWE hosted a table where we greeted high school visitors and gave out free SWE t-shirts.
Our volunteers did an awesome job engaging high school students and describing how cool SWE is. Visitors got to see how passionate our engineers are about the work our organization does and the community of students its growing.
Meanwhile, other SWE volunteers helped teach visitors how to make paper LED circuits in a nearby classroom. The circuits consisted of a battery connected to a colored LED using copper tape and a metal binder clip. After the basic circuit was completed, visitors could decorate a paper shield to place over the LED. Some added glitter and extra colors to the provided robot design and some made their own design from scratch.
Last, an adhesive safety pin was added to the back so that the circuit could be worn. We got a mix of ages, from elementary school to high school, to come complete a circuit with copper tape and light up a pin of their own design. SWE volunteers also had fun making their own circuits along with the open house visitors.
We were able to show how art and design can be involved in engineering (as well as how to complete a basic circuit) to students who don’t know yet what they will major in when they get to college. Hopefully SWE, along with the rest of the School of Engineering, were able to nudge some high school students closer to deciding to be an engineer.
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