Through play and friendly competition, the Women in Engineering Program encourages middle schoolers and students from underrepresented communities to pursue STEM educations, transforming the lives of young people throughout Prince George’s, Montgomery, and Anne Arundel Counties.
Women in Engineering helps young people envision themselves as future STEM leaders. (Photo by John T. Consoli)
As pompom-waving teenagers cheered from the stands, 600 rising ninth graders from Prince George‘s County Public Schools faced off in UMD‘s Ritchie Coliseum.
Crouched on the basketball court, high school teams catapulted small foam balls into the air, testing different launch angles to maneuver around obstacles and reach their targets.
The winning school clinched the “Innovators of Tomorrow” trophy—and all of the competitors got a fun lesson in the principle of projectile motion.
We asked students how they were impacted:
53% had little to no previous experience with engineering.
70% said they believe they have what it takes to be an engineer.
76% said the GOAL activity made them more excited about engineering.
*Among participants surveyed
The friendly contest is a highlight of the Clark School’s Get Outside and Learn (GOAL) program, which uses engineering kits like “Launch, Land, and Learn” to engage students in STEM around the critical middle school years, when adolescents often choose their academic interests. It’s also when many girls and students from underrepresented communities decide math and science aren’t for them.
“We’re hoping that after they’ve done this activity, students see themselves as engineers,” says Jen Kuntz, assistant director of outreach and recruitment for the Clark School’s Women in Engineering Program. “It’s within their grasp, and they belong.”
The Clark School issues about 2,000 kits per year, mostly to schools and STEM programs in nearby Prince George’s, Montgomery, and Anne Arundel counties. The kits are designed to inject a sense of hands-on play into learning complex, often difficult-to-understand engineering principles like trajectory, tension, and traction. Plus, by competing in College Park, the rising ninth graders get to experience a college campus.
The GOAL program is designed to inject a sense of hands-on play into learning complex, often difficult-to-understand engineering principles. (Photo by John T. Consoli)
The GOAL program was born of necessity in Fall 2020, after UMD, like many universities, had canceled on-campus outreach events because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, teachers were seeking hands-on activities to keep kids tuned in during online learning. (Initially, students worked on the kits at home and competed in virtual events.)
GOAL kits contain supplies to design and build engineering projects, whether delivering a “space rover” or a cart propelled by a rubber band. UMD undergraduates develop the kits, which are manufactured on campus in Terrapin Works makerspaces.
Felicia Martin Latief, STEM supervisor for Prince George’s County Public Schools, says the kits were a “lifesaver” during the pandemic. They remain a key part of the schools’ science, technology, and aerospace summer bridge programs for rising ninth graders.
UMD undergraduates benefit, too, says Vincent Nguyen ’03, Ph.D. ’11, principal lecturer in the mechanical engineering department. In addition to volunteering as judges and mentors at competitions, undergrads in Nguyen’s “Entrepreneurial Design Realization” class conceptualize the kits, design the hardware, and establish the GOAL curriculum with local teachers who test concepts.
“It’s good engineering,” Nguyen says of his undergraduates’ input. “It’s also a way to show them that they can use their professional skill set in a way that has a positive impact.”
Hundreds of rising ninth graders descend upon UMD’s Ritchie Coliseum each year for the GOAL engineering kit competition.
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