Nathan Hale eighth-grader Andrew Huzina built a model car using a mousetrap, old CDs and balloons. The car went down 65 tiles in the hallway. I tested it every day, Andrew said as he presented his creation to the PTO last week. As he launched his mousetrap car down a long table in the library, Andrew explained the difference between potential and kinetic energy in the spring of the trap and the importance of friction caused by the rubber on the CD wheels.
Andrew is among a half-dozen Nathan Hale students preparing projects for the annual competition of the Connecticut Pre-Engineering Program CPEP at the Hartford Convention at the end of May.
Twice a week after school, these middle-schoolers meet with adviser Ted White, a family and consumer science teacher at Nathan Hale, who was trained by CPEP. The kids are also making motorboats, egg drops and maglevs, or magnetic levitation devices.
The idea behind CPEP is to get students excited about exploring science, technology, engineering and math, White said to the parents. It also gives the kids a meaningful after-school experience. Part of CPEPs mission is to expose minority students and girls to engineering.
More than 900 students across the state, especially ones from urban districts, participate in CPEP. From Norwalk, Roton Middle School, Norwalk High School and Nathan Hale Middle School have CPEP chapters. As a reward, participants go to Lake Compounce for a day at the end of the school year.
Im definitely continuing in high school, says Andrew, who will start Norwalk High in September.
Do your children participate in CPEP or any other pre-engineering programs?
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