At Neighborhood House Charter School in Dorchester, MA, Ms. Mark teaches middle school science. With a degree in biology, she introduces her 75 students to the mysteries of life on a daily basis. Next on her class agenda is a unit about engineering and bridges – something that Ms. Mark does not have the background thoroughly teach. In an effort to create the most productive, educational hands-on building experience for her students, Ms. Mark found a program that would bring an interactive bridge-building workshop to her classroom.The MIT associated program will send an engineer or scientist directly to her school to conduct a bridge workshop. The organization HighTouch HighTech aims to make science fun by innovating exciting hands-on workshops. The specific project that Ms. Mark intends to bring to her classroom states: “Find out what makes buildings and bridges stand up and not fall down. Learn about compression and tension. Become an engineer, design a bridge that can carry a load and test out a prototype.”Ms. Mark believes that “in order to build a strong future for our country we need our children to become interested in technology, engineering, and science.” She hopes that the workshop she requested will inspire her students to pursue careers in the increasingly important fields of technology and engineering. Visit “Inspiring Future Engineers” to learn how you can help Ms. Mark bring an expert engineer into her classroom.
