WIT-supported middle-school program has students excited over STEM

2nd place pasta bridge winners from Maui Waena Justine Hoylman, Kayzel Rose Tabangcura, Rose Vakalahi, and Justin Collado (hidden) prepare their pasta bridge for competition.

One goal is to engage their middle-school students in technology, engineering, design and mathematics. Another is to get them involved with students from other schools, not just as competitors but as peers.

Meeting those goals and seeing their 7th- and 8th-graders excited about what they can accomplish just makes it more satisfying for the teachers involved.

Kalama Intermediate science teacher Maggie Prevenas said she hopes the teachers and Maui Economic Development Board can build on the pilot “Engineering in the Middle” project.

Supported by MEDB’s Women in Technology with funding from Maui County and the U.S. Department of Education, it’s a Maui-based version of the Junior Engineering Expo held annually on Oahu by the University of Hawaii College of Engineering.

The concept of an educational development competition in engineering for middle-school students was developed by the American Society of Civil Engineers, with engineering professionals and students assisting.

At the University of Hawaii-Manoa, the statewide Expo has teams of middle-school students designing and building structures such as toothpick and popsicle stick bridges that are judged on design and weight-bearing capability. Professional engineers and UH engineering student clubs assist teachers in instructing student teams on elements of structural design.

In past years, Women in Technology funding has supported students from Iao Intermediate, Kalama Intermediate and Lanai High & Elementary School to compete in the Honolulu Expo. But Prevenas said the cost of travel to Oahu limits participation by Maui District schools.

“The engineering symposium put on by the University of Hawaii provided organizations and engineering clubs that were really helpful and provided meaningful experience for the kids,” she said.

“But not every school in the Maui District could afford to participate. When you have funds for schools being cut and the cost of travel is going up, it is only going to be more difficult. So we thought we might be able to create a program here on Maui.”

Engineer & judge, Daron Nishimoto from PDS Technologies, inspects the construction of Kalama School’s Coleson Costales’ (1st place winner) toothpick bridge. Advisor, Maggie Prevenas is pictured on the right looking on.

Supported by MEDB’s Women in Techology program, Prevenas said science teachers from Kalama, Maui Waena and Iao schools put together Engineering in the Middle, with Women in Technology providing the materials, instructions and hosting a competition Jan. 29 at the Donald Malcolm Center.

“Women in Technology will continue working with these science teachers in promoting STEM education projects in their classrooms and in their schools,” Program Director Leslie Wilkins said. “Their ability to set up and implement the Engineering in the Middle pilot project in such a short time is a testament to their commitment and enthusiasm as professionals. Our dedicated teachers are the most valuable community resource that Women in Technology has/and will continue to encourage and support as an essential component of the MEDB mission of strengthening the STEM education base in Hawaii.”

At Kalama, Prevenas teams with Davilla Riddle to recruit their students for the project. Science teacher Holly Stockwell set up an Engineering Club at Iao Intermediate as an after-school project for students to participate. Teachers Kelly Cole and Vanessa Cannon organized teams at Maui Waena Intermediate.

Stockwell explained that the Maui District science teachers are acquainted through professional development classes and began to discuss among themselves options they had for promoting science, technology, engineering and math education in their classrooms.

Participation in the extracurricular program is entirely voluntary for the students who spent time during lunch breaks and after school to work on their projects for the Engineering in the Middle Extravaganza. The program involved three design events — a popsicle stick bridge or a toothpick bridge, which were built at school and transported to the competition, and a spaghetti-marshmallow device constructed at the competition to be tested for weight-bearing capacity.

During lunch, the students were introduced to a panel of local engineers who shared how they got their start and why engineering could be for them. These professionals represented various areas of engineering like civil, environmental, renewable energy, physics, and mechanical.

(L-R) EIM Advisors, Holly Stockwell (Iao) and Maggie Prevenas (Kalama). Background, students prepare their bridges for competition.

Kalama 8th-grader Ethan Finberg said he was encouraged to participate by his teacher and parents, but finally became involved only a few weeks ago in designing and building a stick bridge and designing his spaghetti-marshmallow structure.

“I wasn’t prepared or anything so I was working on it for a whole week and in the middle, I changed my mind on the design,” he said. “All I learned the whole week is that triangles are the strongest shape.”

He said he likes to design things but preparing for the competition mostly was fun.

“My parents think I should go into architecture. This week, I just had fun building things,” he said.

A 7th-grade team from Iao Intermediate, Temoani Keahi and Amanda Barr, appeared to take the competition a little more seriously as they carefully constructed their spaghetti structure.

Keahi took the lead on design, although she said, “We put in different ideas and tried them out. We had fun trying different things.”

“I like to build things,” Barr said.

Neither was prepared to declare their future as engineers, but that’s okay, a goal of the program is to build awareness that STEM careers are among many future options.

“If we can excite the kids to get into engineering, that’s great,” Prevenas said.

But she said that’s not the only purpose for the teachers who volunteer their time to provide their students an opportunity to explore design and engineering ideas outside of the classroom.

“It gets them to develop creative problem-solving skills. It’s teaching them constantly to bend the rules and engage in innovative thinking,” she said.

Iao School’s Stockwell said she sees significant growth among the dozen students in her Engineering Club.

“They’re learning a lot of problem-solving skills. They’re learning to work together, how to cooperate, teamwork. They’re testing the materials and learning about differences in materials.

”It’s getting them more involved in school,” she said.

Cole said her students met during breaks in the school day to design and build the structures for the competition.

“I really didn’t have to do much. They’re seeing what it takes to be an engineer. There was a lot of self-learning,” she said.

“It’s been wonderful. Other students seeing what they’re doing have been asking to be involved. We’re getting more kids interested. They see it’s fun and it’s free.”

With the success of the pilot program, initiated in October with the parts all put into place only in December, Prevenas said the teachers are hoping to expand Engineering in the Middle to other schools in the Maui District next year — with support from Women in Technology. She hoped the Maui District program will include students from the outlying schools in Hana, Lanai and Molokai.

“That would be awesome,” she said.

Extravaganza Results:

ALL AROUND SCHOOL WINNER (based on highest school average from judging scoring sheet) – Iao Intermediate School

PASTA BRIDGE

• 1st place: Kalama School – Sara Suzuki & Caitlyn Cole

• 2nd Place: Maui Waena – Kayzel Rose Tabangcura, Justine Hoylman, Justin Collado, Rose Vakalahi

• 3rd Place: Iao School – Amanda Barr & Temoani Keahi

TOOTHPICK BRIDGE

• 1st place: Kalama School – Coleson Costales

• 2nd place: Kalama School – Ethan Finberg

POPSICLE BRIDGE

• 1st place: Maui Waena – Justine Hoylman

• 2nd place: Maui Waena – Justin Collado

• 3rd place: Kalama School – Jamielynn Moniz & Persuasion Kawailima

Engineer/Judges:

Audrey Chihara, Brown & Caldwell

Mathew McNeff, Maui Electric Company

Daron Nishimoto, PDS Technologies

Fiona van Ammers, Ronald M. Fukumoto Engineering, Inc.