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Engineering
Page 22 Electronic Edition: www.teachingtodaymn.com

Engineering Custom Bathroom Passes

Learning About Themselves
Bekah has known since she was young
that she wanted to pursue her medical degree
to become a prosthetist one day.
“In fourth grade, I went on a field trip
to Century College, where I saw prosthetics
being made and I’ve been hooked ever since”
says Bekah.
She sees this course, and each project,
as a step toward her career goal. Working
with choir teacher Stephanie Phelps, Bekah
created her silhouette of a singer for the bath-
room pass. Although it came together in the
end, the project wasn’t without challenges.
“Some letters and symbols didn’t print for him. Sami learned how to set aside his own
properly at first, but I kept problem-solving biases and rely on classroom learning.
until I got it right,” she said. “This course Students interested in taking a next step
has taught me how to start a project and see in the engineering path can build on their
it through to the finish line, using both the experiences by taking Principles of Engi-
available tools and my brain to make it all neering. Other engineering-aligned courses
come together.” include How to Make Almost Anything,
Other students also learned about them- Computer Science and Intro to the Trades.
Spring Lake Park Schools for paper passes or other off the wall items selves in the process. Despite initial setbacks,
Bekah, a junior at Spring Lake Park (like a giant toilet prop used as a bathroom such as thin lines that didn’t print well, Micah
High School, has aspirations of becoming a pass in health class). adjusted his design to include bolder letters. springlakeparkschools.org
prosthetist. She’s exploring that path as she For Nathan, an 11th grader, this project Overcoming the challenges and making some-
takes the year-long Introduction to Engineer- was an opportunity to connect his personal thing useful has been a highlight of the course
ing course. Recently, students test drove a interests with his studies. Encouraged by his
design process by engineering custom bath- father, who has a background in computer
room passes for their “clients” – their high chip design, Nathan joined the course to
school teachers. explore his own potential in the field. Experience as Theater’s Lighting Director Led
This is Martin Lohman’s first year as a For this project, his client was Bill
Computer Science and Engineering teacher at Neiss, Opportunities in Emergency Care BHS Senior to Pursue Electrical Engineering
Spring Lake Park High School. The goal of (OEC) instructor. Nathan has known Bill Continued from Page 1
the class is to get students excited about engi- since freshman year, and he said the relation-
neering while teaching the design process. ship helped the project go smoothly. that experience is something I really enjoyed,”
Students learn a six-point design process to After settling on the design, which was he said. “It’s a great opportunity when you get
develop products. the program’s logo, Nathan finalized it in into something as a freshman and stick with it.
The bathroom pass project gives stu- CAD and printed the pass which now hangs You have more time to develop and understand
dents a real, tangible outcome for their efforts proudly on a skeleton outside of the OEC what you’re doing and see where that can go
and the opportunities to put the six-point classroom. for you.”
design process into action. Teachers were the “I used to do concept-based drawing, Lucas said his experiences both at the
students’ “clients” and students designed and but never thought I’d see my ideas come to Mraz Center and in his Pathways classes have
3D printed the teacher’s requested custom life in a 3D-printed product, so this has been him feeling well prepared for college.
bathroom pass. Students learned to design cool,” says Nathan. “Just having that experience in engineer-
and manufacture their product and practiced Micah, a 10th grader, decided to take the ing classes gave me an idea of what to expect
soft skills like communication, teamwork and Intro to Engineering course to test the waters going forward and made me more confident
problem-solving. for a future in engineering. He collaborated that I’ll succeed in an engineering path,” he
“I wanted students to have a project with with science teacher, Kyle Greene, to design said. “The engineering Pathways at Burnsville
a tangible result,” says Martin. “It’s a unique a bathroom pass inspired by a video game High School gave me the chance to dip my
opportunity for students to work with a client they both enjoy. feet in the water and see what was out there. It
and see their designs being used in real life. “I started with a survey to understand was all really fun and just gave me a variety of
It’s a great sense of accomplishment.” what he liked, and then I created a design for classes in the Design, Engineering and Manu- experiences in that field.”
a circuit board from the game,” says Micah. From preschool through graduation,
From Process to Product Sami, another 10th grader, worked with facturing Technology Pathway throughout his District 191’s Pathways model provides all
The project began with students meeting Language Arts teacher, Beatrice Bruyers, time at BHS. He’s taken Intro to Engineer- students with age-appropriate experiences
ing, Aerospace, Civil Engineering, and three
their “client” – teachers from various depart- who shared her interest in Legends of Zelda, woodworking classes. Lucas will attend the through which they explore possibilities,
ments – to understand their needs and knitting and cross-stitching. Sami decided to University of Minnesota College of Science develop the skills and attributes they’ll need
interests. They created surveys to gather design a bathroom pass inspired by the game, and Engineering this fall and plans to major to succeed, find their passions and prepare for
insights, brainstormed ideas and developed merging his interest with his client’s. in Electrical Engineering, a decision he said their futures.
prototypes on CAD software. With little prior knowledge in CAD, he’s was influenced by his time spent as lighting
Once their designs were approved, stu- dedicated time to learning the program step director.
dents printed the passes and assembled the by step. Collaboration has been his favorite “I probably would have been a mechanical
final products. The result was a custom-made part of the course so far. engineer if not for my experience at the Mraz. pathways.isd191.org
bathroom pass that teachers can use in their “I’ve enjoyed working with others and I hadn’t been around the electrical side and
high school classrooms – replacing the need sharing ideas,” he said.