College of Engineering Discovery Days
It's not often that UW departments open their doors to the public, but on April 20th and 21st, hundreds of students and teachers participated in hands-on activities at the UW College of Engineering Discovery Days in Seattle. Demonstrations by faculty and graduate students showed participants what engineers do and how they work. Exhibits were spread throughout fourteen buildings and outside on the Husky Union building lawn. Some exhibits featured computer simulations, robots, wind tunnel demonstrations, biomaterial manipulations, and nano-science experiments. The UW also offered information sessions about the university community and the admissions process.
DO-IT's AccessComputing exhibit demonstrated assistive technology such as alternate input devices to operate a computer, while an exhibit of DO-IT AccessSTEM showcased accessible science equipment such as a talking calculator and a color teller device. Several DO-IT participants stopped by for a pizza lunch, where they connected with project staff and other mentors. DO-IT participants also tried their skills at flying quad-copters with a motion-sensing device, and learned how shocking it can be to cross paths with a Van de Graaf generator! One student commented, "I am blown away by all of the awesome stuff!"
For a list of the exhibits and descriptions from the student exhibit competition, and for more information about Engineering Discovery Days, visit www.engr.washington.edu/alumcomm/discodays_exhibits.html.