June 22-26, 2020, Dr. Michalaka taught a “Tour of Engineering” virtual summer camp organized by the South Carolina Governor’s School of Science and Mathematics (SCGSSM). Sixteen rising 8th and 9th graders participated and learned about what engineers do, types of engineering, necessary skills to be successful, civil engineering, transportation engineering, mechanical engineering, computer/software engineering, sustainability, and others. The camp included lecture time and hands-on work sessions. Students worked on exercises like developing a safely returning to school protocol, designing a classroom that allows social distancing, designing a bridge using Bridge Designer software, building one bridge using office material and one with edible material, outlining their neighborhood streets and transforming them to complete streets (streets for all) using Streetmix, designing and building a safety collision device, designing a phone application for school zones and others. In all activities, students used the engineering design process to brainstorm, build, and improve their ideas. The camp also included activities such as Kahoot quizzes, guest lectures, short videos, and presentations.
