Page 14 Herald Uni on March 14, 2013 ...................................................................... www.wi esbaden.army.

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Schools page Partners i n educati on
Army engineers bring STEM to the classroom
By Jennifer Aldridge
U.S. Army Corps of Engi neers Europe
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In honor oI National Engineers Week,
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Europe
District employees presented structural
engineering, alternative energy and fre-
protection concepts to Department of
Defense Dependents Schools-Europe
students Feb. 19-21 at Wiesbaden Middle
School.
Lawrence Carabajal, a district struc-
tural engineer, presented a bridge-building
lesson to eighth-grade science and math
students. Carabajal used a hands-on ap-
proach, constructing a Leonardo da Vinci-
designed wooden bridge for students to
test and re-create.
What engineers love doing is build-
ing things and testing them, so let`s do
it, Carabajal said as he assembled the
self-supporting arch bridge in front of a
46-student audience.
Once the bridge was constructed,
students were eager to test the capacity
by adding textbooks, two at a time, to
determine the applied load the structure
could hold. Volunteers loaded the bridge
with 20 textbooks until an audible crack
replaced the silence in the school foyer.
Wow! There went something. What
just cracked? said a member of Elaine
Youngs eighth-grade science class.
A Iew seconds later, the structure col-
lapsed.
'Our bridge has reached its limit,
Carabajal said.
Due to excessive weight, the bridge
Iailed and needed to be rebuilt, he ex-
plained. Carabajal asked the class to sug-
gest a method to strengthen the bridge. As
a clue, he described the weakness oI the
previous bridge design.
'On our previous arch bridge, the
ends were translating or going outwards.
For arch bridges you dont want the ends
translating. You want them pinned or
fxed, he said.
An engaged students hand popped up
in the air; he said reinIorcement was the
answer to strengthening the bridge.
'This guy is smart, Carabajal said.
Using their Ieet, students created abut-
ments to reinIorce the new bridge, causing
the arch to resist through compression and
withstand a greater applied load than the
previous bridge. The demonstration pro-
vided a real-world lesson on compression
versus tension, a concept critical to bridge
design and construction.
This is a practical application of the
learning taking place in the classroom,
said Millicent Dixon, a Wiesbaden Middle
School math and resource management
teacher. 'We need to use math to do this,
to build this structure.
For teachers, it is always a challenge to
explain how classroom lessons translate
into reality, Dixon said. The bridge-build-
ing exercise provided students tangible
examples of applied math and science.
David Williams, an eighth-grade stu-
dent who Iancies math, said the structural
engineering exercise was a good way to
learn about bridges. 'At frst, it looked like
a jigsaw puzzle and I thought, Wow, how
do you make it stand? he said.
As the presentation progressed,
Carabajal explained how the arch bridge
transferred the weight of the bridge and its
load to the abutments or reinforcements
at either end. He also explained that there
are Iour main types oI bridges beam,
suspension, truss and arch. During the
workshop, Dixon saw interest gleaming
in her students eyes.
Experiences like this with our com-
munity motivate our students to learn.
The more hands-on engagement, the more
real and accessible engineering seems,
Dixon said.
The students enthusiastically raised
their hands, asked questions and vol-
unteered to build, load and measure the
bridge. The hands-on exercise allowed stu-
dents to touch, Ieel and break the structure.
Getting students excited about engi-
neering in middle school or even earlier
is advantageous. Frequent exposure to
engineering activities and professional
engineers is key to attracting students to
the feld, Dixon said.
I remember being a student and think-
ing all engineers went to (Massachusetts
Institute of Technology). For me it seemed
unattainable, Dixon said. 'But the more
experience [my students have] with people
in this feld the better.
They see their teachers every day so
they want to be teachers. They see athletes
on television, so they want to be athletes.
They need to see people in science and
technology to get them interested in these
felds.
As a sponsor, Europe District works
with Wiesbaden Middle School teachers
and administrators to engage students
throughout the year. In addition to Engi-
neers Week, district volunteers connect
with WMS via videoconIerencing lessons,
Earth Day activities and Take Our Daugh-
ters and Sons to Work Day. At USACE,
it is a priority to attract students to sci-
ence, technology, engineering and math,
or STEM, through a variety oI outreach
programs.
Our country is in dire need of more
scientists and engineers, Carabajal said.
The president has this STEM initiative
because so much of the work is being sent
overseas. We have to educate [students]
and keep that work in our country.
Preparing American students for to-
morrows STEM jobs is a top priority for
President Barack Obama. In his 2013 State
oI the Union address, Obama Iocused on
education and announced the creation of
an elite STEM Master Teacher Corps to
better equip students, 'Ior the demands oI
a high-tech economy. He also highlighted
the importance of school-employer part-
nerships, much like the WMS-Europe
District aIfliation.
STEM jobs are growing at a rate three
times as Iast as non-STEM jobs, and by
2018 they are projected to grow by 17
percent, according to the U.S. Department
of Commerce.
As Carabajals bridge-building presen-
tation drew to a close, he made a plea to
the students, 'Please consider engineering
as a career feld.
Photo by Jennifer Aldridge
Lawrence Carabajal, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Europe District structur-
al engineer, presents bridge building concepts to eighth-grade science and
math students at Wiesbaden Middle School Feb. 19.
Schoolbi ts
High school
happenings
The Wiesbaden High
School Senior Parent Asso-
ciation holds an antique sale
March 22-24. The school
Ieatures a spring concert at 7
p.m. March 26 in the schools
multipurpose room.
Hainerberg PTO
events
The Hainerberg Parent
Teacher Organization hosts
a used book fair at the school
March 21-22, spring bingo
night March 21 at 5 p.m. and
PTO popcorn day March 28.
Central Texas
College classes
Wiesbadens Central
Texas College offers as-
sociates degree evening
classes in legal assistance,
criminal justice, automotive
mechanic/technician, child
development, hospitality
management and fre protec-
tion. Term runs from March
18 through May 10. Online
classes are also available in
other felds. Call civ (0611)
705-5561, mil 337-5561,
email Wiesbaden@europe.
ctcd.edu or stop by the
Education Center in Build-
ing 1023E on Clay Kaserne.
No removable
storage devices
allowed
The Department of De-
fense Dependents Schools-
Europe no longer allow
unapproved removable stor-
age devices on DoDEA com-
puters. This includes thumb
drives, memory sticks, cam-
era memory cards, external
USB hard drives, MP3
players, camcorders and
printer memory. For more
information check with your
local school to fnd out about
safe alternatives for storing
and transferring information.
(Courtesy of the Wiesbaden
High School)
School registration
Wiesbaden Department
of Defense Schools will
hold registration for next
school year in the Wiesbaden
Middle School gym April 18
Irom 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and
April 19 Irom 7:30 a.m. to
3:30 p.m.