Watch the activity overview video of a group of youth from a summer program on a field trip to learn more about how engineers work.
As you watch the video, think about these questions.
How does the engineer use the engineering design process with youth?
What problem solving skills are modeled here?
What does the engineer say and do here to connect the youth to the real-world career of an engineer?
If you were frontline staff in this video, what would you do differently to help youth see themselves as an engineer?
Now that you’ve watched the video, reflect on what you saw. How does this apply to your work?
Brainstorm possible engineers in your community you could invite to participate at your program. What would you do and say to help the engineer align real-world application of what they do in their career to an activity in your program?
How do the youth respond to the interactions with the engineer?
Explore Engineering Practices
Education Item
Presenting a Challenge
Watch as staff engage youth in an engineering design challenge to build their own roller coaster. Notice how staff connect the challenge to youth’s feelings and experiences with roller coasters.
Watch as Gauri, the frontline staff member, helps the youth connect the activity to prior knowledge, experiences and societal needs and strategize how you might do this as well.
Watch and listen as Jean discusses the importance of understanding the needs of both your staff and youth when evaluating materials and resources for STEM learning. Pay close to attention to strategies she uses to set everyone up for success.