Colorado School of Mines Engineering Design Summer Camps

Engineering Project Camps What is the engineering design process? Engineering Design is a means to solving open-ended problems. It is a life skill that can be applied to many other situations – not just the technical world of engineering. Students will be challenged to invent, to create, to design, and to build. They will experience the satisfaction of an exciting activity, resulting in their very own unique product. They will learn to listen to and to respect the ideas of their teammates. And most of all, they will learn the confidence to resolve their own open-ended problems, and the ability to apply engineering concepts to them. Goals and Objectives The mission of the camp is to offer high school students an opportunity to participate in a creative challenge as they explore the world of engineering. The goal of the camp is to guide participants through a fun and rewarding hands-on experience of authentic engineering design practices. The expected outcomes of this program address the fundamentals of the engineering design process. Challenges of designing and marketing a product Early exposure to engineering design processes Opportunities to apply basic mathematic and science concepts Importance of team and communications skills Challenges to step beyond the comfort zone Schedule and Activities A team spends the first two days brainstorming ideas, defining specifications, and selecting its best design. The team creates sketches (portfolio) and describes its designs (project plan). Once the design is approved, the team builds the apparatus from its drawings and specifications. On Friday it assesses the performance of its design.