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Get Outside and Learn (GOAL) Engineering Kit Program

Our mission is to increase interest in STEM among our local communities by introducing STEM concepts through interactive GOAL Engineering Kits and exposure to educational pathways at the University of Maryland.

Our Impact

Provide over 2,000 hands-on engineering kits each year to local K-12 students
Host GOAL Kit Challenge Events on campus to introduce students to Maryland Engineering
Partner with teachers and administrators to develop and implement kits and curriculum
Empower undergraduate students to engage in real-world product design and community collaboration

GOAL Program one-pager

History of the GOAL Program

In Summer 2020, the Get Outside and Learn (GOAL) Engineering Kit Program was developed by the University of Maryland, A. James Clark School of Engineering in response to the loss of K-12 STEM outreach opportunities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To fill this gap, the WIE Program and the Mechanical Engineering Department collaborated to create hands-on STEM kits for middle and high school students.

In Fall 2021, the GOAL program was integrated into an undergraduate Entrepreneurial Design Realization (EDR) course, where students lead the design, testing, manufacturing, and implementation of the kits. Since the inception of the program, multiple kit versions have been developed with GOAL kit challenges occurring on campus and across classrooms in local Maryland schools. As the GOAL program grows and new kits are developed, its core mission remains unchanged: to inspire the next generation of innovators in STEM.

Launch, Land and Learn Kit

Projectile Motion Challenge

Using your knowledge of projectile motion and engineering, you are tasked with safely delivering a package to Mars. Your challenge is to determine the optimal trajectory to launch the package and design a landing pad to safely catch the delivery.

Launch, Land and Learn handout

PropCart Kit

Fuel Efficiency Challenge

Using your knowledge of mechanics, your mission is to build a PropCart to transport supplies to a nearby town using the least amount of ‘fuel’ or rubber band twists.

PropCart handout

Quantum Kit

Light Polarization Activity

Learn about polarization of light through creative challenges and connect those classical physic concepts to quantum effects.

Undergraduate Involvement

The University of Maryland connects undergraduate students with real-world positive impact with the Entrepreneurial Design Realization course, an upper level elective (ENES401) designed to expose students to the opportunities and challenges of bringing a product design to reality. The GOAL Engineering Kits are designed, tested, and manufactured at scale by Maryland students.

WIE Program

The WIE Program coordinates a variety of programs, services, opportunities, and resources to support and enhance the development of undergraduate and graduate engineering students and implements the GOAL Engineering Kit program.