The Society of Women Engineers hosted a group of over 200 local high school students for their annual “Launch into Engineering” event on Feb. 20. The goal of the event, which is in its third year, is to introduce young people to the different disciplines within engineering in a fun, accessible and engaging way.
“We give them a chance to break through some of the stereotypes [surrounding STEM fields] and expose them to different types of things engineering does so they can see something that sparks their interest and hopefully encourages them to join an engineering field,” said Michelle Wood, SWE Logistics Coordinator.
Students participated in hands-on activities to learn about disciplines, like creating a coating to maintain the structure of a Skittle when immersed in Sprite as a segue into biomedical engineering. Former NASA astronaut Bonnie Dunbar, who serves as the director of the UH STEM Center and the Cullen College's aerospace engineering program, also spoke to the group.
Watch the video from Launch into Engineering here.
View the photos from Launch into Engineering here.