In This Issue:

Inspiring Children and Youth to Become Engineers

Last semester, two Engineering undergrads, Pamela Young ’07 and Kelly Beers ’07, back row, right, created a service learning curriculum for elementary school-age children. With Sabrina Hawkins ’07, back row, left, they had the opportunity to test it this summer when seven children participated in the program, Columbia Kids Care. Designed as an after-school club activity, the course, modeled on the School’s required first- year design course, taught the children problem-solving skills and team building.

Kelly Beers and Sabrina Hawkins with elementary school children

“They don’t realize they are learning,” said Kelly Beers. “They use Legos for modeling rather than computer tools, but the thought process is the same. It gives them a sense of accomplishment and pride. They recognize they are helping others and, at the same time, are learning about science and technology outside the traditional educational environment.”

Concurrently, a summer service learning course brought high school students from around the world to the Botwinick Gateway Laboratory. The photo on the right shows Promiti Dutta ’06, left, a lab assistant for the first-year required design course, who worked with the students. Several projects were designed to aid disabled visitors to the Bronx Zoo. Among the students were, from the left, Jonathan Kan of London; Claire Teter of Charlotte, NC; Connie Chung of Holmdel, NJ; and Kevin Luna of New York. Their projects included redesigning the Skyfari gondola and the camel ride to hold wheelchairs.