Photo By Capt. Bryan Perrenod | Capt. Zachary Abrams explains to the students how the schools HVAC system works and...... read more read more
DUPONT, Wash. – The 555th Engineer Brigade held its second session with students from the Pioneer Middle School in DuPont, Washington, April 17. The day’s topic was an engineering assessment of the building, where the students got an opportunity to see the factors that go into designing and constructing a building. The brigade’s STEM partnership program aims to help supplement the schools by showing students the application of the subjects they learn.
The students of Kurt Bethman’s class were broken into three groups, who rotated through three main areas of the building. They went outside to learn about environmental factors and how to design the exterior efficiently, then they went inside the school’s gym to learn the different types of support structures and material used to carry the weight of the building, and lastly they visited the school's mechanical room, where the HVAC systems were located. There they learned about the importance of designing the HVAC system to properly heat or cool the building efficiently.
Capt. Woerth was one of the volunteer’s that led the students and organized the class.
“The purpose of the walkthrough was to familiarize the students with the different engineering disciplines and show them how the work of engineers influence their daily lives. We showed the students the heating and ventilation system, the roof structure and some of the landscaping features that make the school more environmentally friendly.”
Outside, the students were shown how the landscape and water runoff from the roof was taken into account to lessen the impact of the building.
Capt. Abrams stated while leading his group, “When the concrete and foundation are placed, the water still has to go somewhere, so the design of the building has to take this into account.”
Inside, the students were shown the roof structure of the gym, and Abrams explained how the different forces were taken into account to support the building. Trusses built out of steel and constructed in triangular shapes were used to prevent buckling, something the students were quick to pick up on. When asked why concrete would not be used, the students knew the answer already, “because it would crack.”
The part of the tour the students enjoyed the most though was the mechanical room, which they had never seen before. There, Woerth showed the students the heating system for the school, where they crowded around it, looking inside it to see how it worked. They learned why a large intake duct was good for incoming air, but the small pipe was needed for natural gas to contain it under pressure.
At the end, the students came back to their classroom for a quiz on the day’s subject.
On their participation, Woerth remarked, “The students were very responsive and asked a lot of questions. They also took copious notes and displayed impressive knowledge retention at the end of the day.”
Later classes will show the students robots the unit uses for reconnaissance, to show them how the principles they learn in their robotics class are realized in a functioning robot. The students will also be taken on a field trip to see different engineering projects in action.
| Date Taken: | 04.17.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 04.22.2015 12:54 |
| Story ID: | 160829 |
| Location: | DUPONT, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 106 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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