Engineering on Stage: Live Demos to Engage Potential Young Engineers at "Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day"

Engineering on Stage:Live Demos to Engage Potential Young Engineers at

“Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day”

Houston, TX

Theresa Baumrucker1, Charla Dow2, Camille Drake2, Jami Guthrie2 , Britney Head3, Gretchen Holtzer1, Diane Hymas1, Meredith Storm2, Kathy Tellier1, Wai Yip1

ExxonMobil: 1Research & Engineering, 2Chemical Company, 3Refining and Supply

How to Economize

How toOutsourceHow to

Plan

How to

WOW

WaiTheresa

GretchenKathy

Britney

DianeCamille

Jami Meredith

All materials can be downloaded from the SWE 2012 web sitewww.SWE.org/WE12

Speed “Demo-ing”Audience will divided into 4 groups.

Rotate tables every 10 minutes.

Charla

Houston, TX

"Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day"

Engineering on Stage: How to Plan

ExxonMobil employee Ramona Helble assists students from Dallas ISD as part of “Introduce a

Girl to Engineering” day in Dallas, Texas.

Charla Dow1 and Britney Head2

ExxonMobil: 1Chemical Company, 2Refining and Supply

Engineering on Stage: How to OutsourceMeredith Storm and Jami Guthrie

ExxonMobil Chemical Company

Houston, TX

Source: http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/sci/

"Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day" PBS Kids Zoom ActivitiesThe ExxonMobil Team

Surf the web for other Resources:

The Plastivan

The Keynote speaker

www.eweek.orgwww.discoverengineering.orgwww.tsaweb.org/TEAMS UNITEDwww.tryscience.orgwww.iwaswondering.orgwww.billnye.comwww.egfi-k12.orgwww.stevespanglerscience.comwww.HunkinsExperiments.comwww.engineergirl.org

The Houston Museum of Nat .Sci.

Engineering on Stage: How to Engage and EconomizeTheresa Baumrucker and Wai Yip

ExxonMobil Research & Engineering

Houston, TX

Raft Rally

WHAT’S THE SCIENCE?

• Archimedes' principle is the law of buoyancy. It states, "Any body partially or completely submerged in a fluid is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the body"

• The weight of an object acts downward, and the buoyant force provided by the displaced fluid acts upward. If these two forces are equal, the object floats

• Density is defined as mass per unit volume of a substance. If the density of an object exceeds the density of water, the object will sink. (Density of H20 = 1.0 g/mL)

• Buoyancy is important for many vehicles such as boats, ships, balloons and airships

The Science Behind

ExxonMobilIntroduce a Girl to Science & Engineering Day

Clinton, NJFebruary 2012

Oil & Water Don’t Mix

Oil is made up of long chains of hydrocarbons. Oil is non-polar. The carbon and hydrogen atoms politely share the electrons equally.

Water is polar because the oxygen atom is more electronegative than the hydrogen atoms. The oxygen atom “hogs” the electrons!

Polar liquids are hydrophilic (water loving ) and non-polar liquids are hydrophobic (water fearing). In other words...Like Dissolves Like

Why Does Oil Float on Water?Density = mass per unit volume

BubblesTablets are made of Sodium Bicarbonate

The Alka-Seltzer tablet reacts with the water to make tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide gas

These bubbles attach themselves to the blobs of colored water and cause them to float to the surface

When the bubbles pop, the color blobs sink back to the bottom of the bottle

Instructions for LAVA LAMPS1. Fill your test tube about ¾ full with oil.2. Add a cap-full of water to your test tube. 3. Add a color tablet and see what happens.

Then get a piece of alka-seltzer from us and see what happens.

4. Close your lava lamp and enjoy!

Lava Lamp Experiment

How to Engage and economizeEngage: The most important part of planning Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day events is that all experiments and activities will actively engage and excite the girls. You want to share the passion you have for science and engineering with the next generation of women engineers and women scientists.

Economize: People often think about science and engineering experiments as involving large, complex and expensive items that take a great amount of time and money. Luckily there are many interesting and inexpensive science and engineering experiments out there to engage and benefit students. These experiments use everyday household items or products easily purchased from stores with perhaps one or two specialty items that are easily ordered on-line.

Try the lava lamp, raft rally or polymer experiments highlighted below to get you started on planning your own engaging and economizing Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day!

Raft Rally Experiment

Polymer ExperimentWhat is a Polymer?

A Polymer is a very large molecule made up of many smaller molecules (monomer)

Poly = Many Mer = Units

Polymer Experiment

Worm Goo = Sodium Alginate Sodium Alginate is one of the main

ingredients of Gummy Worms, but please do not eat our Insta-Worms!!

Worm Activator Solution = calcium chloride

What happens when Worm Goo meets with Worm Activator Solution?

Ingredients

Insta Worms!

When the sodium alginate hits the calcium-rich solution, two things happen:

(a) A crosslinked polymer is formed, and (b) It is insoluble in calcium chloride solution.

______

Tip: Print and give

out certificates of

participation

Tip: Seat the girls in small groups so they can share their

observations and findings together

Tip: Discuss slides

with the teacher before

the event to see if the

concepts presented are

classroom topics

Tip: Have

small gifts to

give out to

girls who ask

and answer

questions

All materials and photographs on this poster are from the 2012 ExxonMobil Introduce a Girl to Science and Engineering Day events held near the Clinton, NJ site. Over 30 ExxonMobil employees visited 130 girls at 5 middle schools near the Clinton, NJ site during National Engineers Week in February 2012.

Engineering on Stage: How to WowKathy Tellier and Gretchen Holtzer

ExxonMobil Research & Engineering

Houston, TX

Engineering on Stage: Ketchup Challenge "Intr oduce a Gir l to Engineer ing Day"

1 Key Focus →Engineers invent or improve items you use every day. →Engineers are creative problem solvers. →Being an engineer is fun!

5 6 7

Demonstration → Objective: Student volunteers will race to see which plastic bottle will dispense the most ketchup in the same amount of time. →Ask for one volunteer for each bottle →Explain the ketchup challenge →Make sure students are wearing safety glasses and lab coats. Make sure the seal is removed from the ketchup bottles. →Take a poll of the audience to assess which bottle they think will win and why → Each volunteer will wait until the presenter says go and then open the bottle and squeeze it as hard as they can. → The volunteers will continue squeezing ketchup into the cup until the presenter says stop. → Summarize the results and get audience reactions Review the Results → Why do you think the winning bottle won? For example: →If the Easy Squeeze bottle wins: Discuss the applied force and the fact that it starts inverted →If the Easy Squeeze loses: Discuss the funnel design of the bottle, the opening is larger, no diaphragm → How did engineers improve the design of these bottles? For example:

→ There is a diaphragm seal in the Easy Squeeze bottle to prevent ketchup from forming and clogging the nozzle.

Wrap-up →Can you think of a time when you bought or replaced something new that was very different than what you used to have? E.g. cell phones, curling irons vs. flat irons, regular TV vs. 3D →In science and engineering, you get a lot of opportunities to have creative fun.

2 3

Supplies →Different ketchup bottle designs from glass to plastic →Plastic cups →Lab coats and safety glasses General Instructions → Have the girls to write down which ketchup bottle they would use and why → Have student volunteers race to compare the dispensing speed of each plastic bottle → Summarize the results interactively with the audience

4

Start Presentation → Which bottle would you use and why?

→Discuss advantages and disadvantages →A glass bottle is relatively air-tight. Glass is cheap, available, recyclable and durable (mostly). A glass bottle is heavy and it breaks when dropped. It is difficult to “put effort” into ketchup through a glass bottle. →A plastic bottle is cheap and easy to make. It is recyclable and it doesn’t break when dropped. It is flexible allowing you to “put effort” into the ketchup by squeezing the bottle.

→What about plastic bottle designs? →Which plastic bottle do you think is easier to use and why? .

Engineering on Stage: The Puzzle "Intr oduce a Gir l to Engineer ing Day"

1 Key Focus Scientists and engineers work in teams to develop a solution. Communication skills are key. 5

6 7

First Round → Start the stopwatch when the teams are ready, stop the stopwatch when the last group finishes (noting a time for each team). How did it go? → Now heave each team take their puzzle apart, leaving it picture side down. Have them mix up the pieces. → Each team then gets one minute to re-strategize. Again, no more instructions are to be given once the timed activity starts. Second Round → Start stopwatch when room is ready, stop stopwatch when all puzzles are finished. → As each team completes their puzzle, encourage them to decide if they are really finished. They should notice that the picture does not look quite right. Volunteers may give hints to encourage the students to rethink the breadth of their team, but be careful not to give the hidden trick away. → Each team will eventually realize they need to swap the odd piece (or pieces) in their puzzle with other teams in the room to complete the puzzle correctly. At this point, the teams are actually working collaboratively as one large team. → How did it go? Which scenario was easier? Wrap-up →Engineers and scientists always rely on teams, someone who has the tools and expertise that help us reach a goal. →Consider your communication strategy. Let’s hear from a talking and non-talking team. →How did this benefit or hurt your speed in putting the puzzle together?

2

3

Supplies →Simple, colorful puzzles with approximately 20 pieces. One puzzle for each team. →Stopwatch →Talking/silent flashcards (optional) Before Arrival → Have face-down puzzles (one for each work group) with puzzle pieces distributed from ODD PIECES bag → Stopwatch can be used to keep track of time →Puzzles will be intentionally mixed –up. There will be at least one wrong piece in each puzzle so that work groups will have to find the missing piece from other work groups (without being told this in the initial instructions). This activity will stress the importance of communication and understanding that your team can include more people than your immediate work group.

4

Start Presentation →Objective Students will solve puzzles while learning the importance of communication and teamwork. → This is a teamwork activity timed to see how fast each team can put a puzzle together correctly. →Each team puts the puzzle together twice. First time is picture side down; second time is picture side up. Have each team hypothesize which time will be faster and why. →Inform the teams that one of the times they can communicate verbally and the other time there will be no talking. → Each team has 2 minutes to strategize in which situation they want to be able to talk (i.e., puzzle pieces face up and puzzle pieces face down). Once each team has reached a decision, they are instructed that they may start (together). No

Engineering on Stage: Team Challenge "Intr oduce a Gir l to Engineer ing Day"

1 Key Focus →Engineers work in teams →Engineers are creative problem solvers.

5 6 7

Competition →Teams will be evaluated on how many objects they can move within a fixed amount of time (1 minute) →Overall competition will take place in the large group. →Each team will have 1 minute to move as many objects from bag 1 to bag 2. →Each girl on the team must participate in building and moving objects. →Students are encouraged to watch and observe other team’s tools and strategies for discussion at the end. Rules → The bags are to sit on the surface with the opening towards the ceiling. →Once the bags have been placed, they may not be moved. →The team will receive one bag which will contain the known objects that will be moved. → A successful move of each object is worth one point. →During the planning period, the team will also be introduced to mystery objects (critters). They are worth two points. →Teams get 20 minutes to plan, build, and practice. →Each team will receive a bag of supplies. →Each team member must build a transportation tool and participate in the competition. →Treat mystery critters humanely (no push pins!) Wrap-up →What form of equipment was easiest to move? →What team strategies did you see used? →What was the most creative tool you saw? →What was a particular tool that your team found easiest to use? →What additional item would you have liked to have to build a better tool?

2

Supplies →Different shape and sizes of ping pong balls, whiffle balls, rubber balls →Plastic forks and spoons →Tape, tongue depressors, rubber bands, push pins,etc →Paper bags to hold items and for competition →Mystery objects →Stop watch

3 4

Start Presentation → You are the successful owner of a ______ factory on a beautiful tropical island. Business is booming and life is good on your sunny island, but one day the meteorologists issue a hurricane warning! You are not so worried about the damaging winds since you built very sturdy structures but the plant is in the middle of a flood zone. If you don’t act quickly, your expensive equipment, rare ingredients and valuable products will be washed away. So, with what you have on hand, you need to make transportation devices to move as much of your equipment, ingredients and products as possible to higher ground and as quickly as possible. There are also little critters which are harmless, cute but quite shy. Objective →Create tools to transport the items from our plant (the bag I placed on the ground) to higher ground (bag 2 placed on desk). Some items will be known and some will be a mystery. .

Diversify for Best Impact

Engineering on Stage: Lip Gloss "Intr oduce a Gir l to Engineer ing Day"

1 Key Focus →Engineers work in teams →Engineers improve or invent items you use every day.

5 6

Make Lip Gloss →Objective Students will work in teams to invent their own lip gloss formulations. →Safety reminder: Safety glasses, hot plate, do not share, do not eat →Move girls into small groups →Nominate someone to record quantities →Show girls oils and their properties

→Oil allows for smooth application, holds in moisture, viscosity (thickness)

→Show girls waxes and properties →Wax allows for longer lasting lip gloss, less mess, melting point

→Hypothesize formulation (Guess recipe) →Initial recipe should be on a small scale to test → Melt wax/oil combination, place in clam shell, cool and test →What changes should be made?

→Formulate with knowledge of first test →What properties do you want? Smooth and shiny? Long lasting? Organic? Color? Flavor?

→Final Formulation →Use recipe provided to ensure “scale up” will be a useful lip gloss

Wrap-up →Describe the problem you just solved.

→Engineers solve problems →Can you give examples of similar problems engineers have in real life? →How are your recipes different from other groups?

→Creative problem solving →What did you like about working in groups?

→Engineers work in teams →What did you do to improve the recipe each time?

→Inventing improvements

2

Supplies →Different waxes and oils →Flavors/colors →Lip gloss vials →Wax warmers or hot plates →Pipettes/clamshells →Thermometers →Recipe →Safety glasses

3

4

Before Arrival → Have lip gloss stations set up with water heating in pans (assuming using hot plate method) →Stations should have 2 oils, 2 waxes, measuring spoons, a beaker, pipettes, a thermometer, color/flavor list Start Presentation →In this activity, we are going to let you invent your own lip gloss. In the real world, scientists would develop a formulation and then the engineers would take that formulation and invent a way to make it in large quantities. →What kind of lip gloss do you use and what do you like about it? →Did you ever think that engineers would be involved in making lip gloss? What do you think they do?

→Figure out recipe →Scale up to make large quantities →Design containers

→Talk together in your groups and decide what combination of ingredients will work best together and at what ratios →Trial and error – Observe, improve, test

Leverage a Simple Demonstration Have Fun with Friendly Competition

Play a game to promote Teamwork Get Hands-on with real world applications