BALTIMORE ASME SECTION BUILDS BRIDGES WITH EDUCATORS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Baltimore: The Baltimore Section of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) hosted two successful seminars for educators on October 9th and 23rd, 1999.  During the 90 minute workshops, over thirty local teachers worked with six engineers to share information on engineering principles.  The group also worked together on a "straw bridge challenge", which involves hands-on structure building and testing of resulting structures. The workshops are a new part of Baltimore Section's annual contribution to the Maryland Engineering Challenges.

Participating teachers left with equipment to conduct the bridge challenge in their classrooms, as well as a variety of engineering career materials including videotapes for use in the classroom.

According to Niel Leon, ASME Baltimore Section Education Chair, the teachers "were very excited about the hands-on nature of the project, and the depth the straw bridge has.  It can be a quite simple endeavor for younger kids, or get significantly complex for older ones."

ASME Baltimore is being honored November 18 at the Baltimore Museum of Industry by the Technology Educators Association of Maryland for the section's support of  technology education and participation in the TEAM conference.  ASME Baltimore is planning another hands-on workshop for middle school teachers in April 2000. For more information contact Niel Leon at leonn@asme.org, or visit their website at http://sections.asme.org/baltimore.

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