By Tom Farmer, Editor • tfarmer@pitsco.com

Ohio all-girls school discovers the physics and the fun in CO

2 dragsters

ROCKY RIVER, OH – Sure, CO2 dragsters are cool. They’re fast, and

they can help students understand the relationship among concepts such as mass, drag, and velocity. But here’s the real test: Can the sleek dragsters catch the attention of and build the knowledge base in a high school honors physics class – at an all-girls Catholic school, no less?

Yes! Pitsco’s Science of Speed – as the CO2 dragster activity is fast

coming to be known – is a raging success with this new demographic if recent races at Bluestreak Motor Speedway inside Magnificat High School in Rocky River, Ohio, are an accurate barometer.

Teacher Carolyn Wanzor has a reputation for challenging her advanced Honors Physics students, and she wanted to graduate from the mousetrap vehicles activity to something a bit more sophisticated with a wow factor.

Aiding her mission was a donation from a local software executive. “He generously donated quite a bit of money to the Honors Physics program,” Wanzor said, adding, “I saw CO

2 cars, and I was like, ‘This

is fun. How would I race it?’ . . . I Google searched ‘CO2-powered car

tracks,’ and of course Pitsco was the first on the list.”

Discovering Pitsco Education’s broad range of several hundred

dragster components from custom wheels to a variety of car kits to

wind tunnels, an elevated track, and start/finish systems, Wanzor knew

she had discovered everything needed to give her students a

complete, exciting, and highly educational experience.

Her initial purchase included all the essentials to get started with CO2

drag racing: the 65-foot FasTrak Elevated Racetrack, the Impulse G3 Race

System, a Precut Dragster 32-Pack, and a case of 8-gram CO2 cartridges.

She explained her choice of precut dragsters (predrilled axle holes and

rough-cut bodies) over the raw basswood or balsa wood blanks.

“I got the precut dragsters because it’s not an engineering class.

It’s not a class where we have power equipment, and we don’t have a

wood shop here. I wanted to go with something that was a little more

done,” Wanzor explained.

The precut dragsters don’t require much shaping beyond basic sanding

and smoothing, but they do allow for custom design and decorating –

much to the delight of the 60 high school girls involved in the activity.

“There’s going to be an aesthetics element to this as well, of course.

This is an all-girls school,” Wanzor said. “We have a collaboration with

American Greetings, which has its world headquarters in (nearby)

Cleveland. They’re going to judge the girls’ cars on aesthetics.”

‘Ladies, start your engines’

4 The Pitsco Network

Even though the girls were excited about challenging for the title of fastest car, the more coveted crown might be “most cool and creative car.” “They love to make things pretty,” Wanzor said. “I just wanted to make it something where, yes, it needs to go fast, but it needs to look good as well. Presentation, presentation, presentation. Mags just does everything up like that.”

The aesthetics judging by some of the greeting card company’s talented artists was scheduled to take

place in December, but the big race day was held in early October in a spacious lobby outside

Magnificat’s performing arts center – a full-fledged

extravaganza replete with race officials, a bracket showing head-to-head performances, concessions for the fans, and plenty of heart-pumping excitement.

“It was a blast and went over exceptionally well,” Wanzor said. “Even two local newspapers came in with reporters to cover the event!”

By going all out and following some of the race day suggestions outlined in Pitsco’s Science of Speed teacher’s guide for the full-fledged STEM dragster activity, Wanzor and her students put on an event that has the makings of an annual or even semiannual affair. Maybe it’ll never grow as large as that other race over at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but on the education racing circuit, Bluestreak Motor Speedway is well on its way to becoming a featured venue.

Physics sounds intimidating enough. But honors physics? Just the name would strike fear into the mind of the average high school student. So, it’s important to find exciting and engaging activities that make honors physics approachable and educational at the same time.

The CO2 dragsters activity – the Science

of Speed, in Pitsco parlance – serves exactly that purpose in Carolyn Wanzor’s classroom at Magnificat High School in Rocky River, OH. She propelled herself headfirst into this new activity during Fall 2015 in hopes that she could refer back to it later in the school year as new physics concepts are introduced.

“When we talk about Newton’s laws of motion in about a month and action-reaction, I’m going to tie in, ‘Remember the car,’”

Wanzor said. “When we get into potential and

kinetic energy, when we talk about drag and

coefficient of friction, I feel like I can circle

back around a number of times throughout

the year. . . . I feel like there’s a lot of practical

application with these cars.”

After her students experienced a Day at

the Races culminating event, she asked them

to talk about what they had learned. Among

their responses:

• “Newton’s third law of motion was

clearly shown when the CO2 cartridge

got punctured.”

• “I totally understand how aerodynamics and

mass work toward making a car travel faster.”

• “The excitement of the event – it brought

hands-on fun to a bunch of kinematic equations that we have been studying.”

• “I loved the poof of vapor and the sound of the cars blasting out of the gate.”

• “I love science, and anytime the teacher can teach a lesson and then show us something that we get to participate in is such a rewarding experience.”

• “Lectures are good and necessary, but this race was so fun and demonstrated so many of the physics concepts we’ve learned and will learn.”

• “I like to see the real-world practical application of doing actual calculations on things now and then rather than always doing a worksheet.”

Academically rich CO2 dragsters

Although speed was important, the more coveted crown at Bluestreak Motor Speedway might have been “most cool and creative car.” Even a Popemobile, below, was among the racing entries crafted by Honors Physics students at the all-girls school.

December 2015-January 2016 5

By Patty Cooke, Communications Assistant • pcooke@pitsco.com

Lessons from “Ellie,” the girlbot

It’s not every day we get the chance to inspire others – to take what we know and use it to build or create a walking, talking testament to what can be achieved.

Recently, Team CLUTCH, an all-girls robotics team at Saint Gertrude High School in Richmond, Virginia, got to do just that

when they were commissioned by the Girls’ Lounge’s CEO and Founder Shelley Zalis to build a girlbot that could speak, hand out business cards, and fit into a suitcase.

The team, consisting of senior Caitlin Kelly (a homeschooled, affiliate member of the team), juniors Molly Powers and Martha Anne Hotinger, and Maddie Crown (now graduated), jumped at the challenge. “There was no hesitation for accepting the challenge of building a girlbot,” said Powers, who met with Zalis in the summer of 2015 and accepted the challenge on the team’s behalf. “It sounded like an amazing opportunity, and I jumped straight for it,” she said. “I was just hoping the team would be interested. And, thankfully, they were!”

GETTING REALThe members of Team CLUTCH might not have had any reservations

about Zalis’ challenge, but their coach, Jeremy Watts, certainly did. “At the beginning of the project, the girls were so excited at the

opportunity,” he said, “but I knew they were not considering all the responsibilities necessary for the project to be a success.”

Fortunately, Watts’ fears were quickly relieved. “After the entire scope of the project was clear in their minds, they produced as well as any professional team would,” he said.

The entire project scope, which included meeting design specifications; creating and presenting a budget; submitting draft options of the aesthetics; tracking parts, tools, and inventory; and coordinating everything on a tight schedule, was no small feat.

GETTING CREATIVE WITH TETRIX®The creation of this new girlbot is a great example of the versatility

of the TETRIX® Building System. As an FTC® robotics squad, Team CLUTCH was used to working from a kit and within a certain set

ROBOTICS

Get to know EllieThe creation of Ellie is a powerful message about what young minds can do when given the right tools and encouragement. Visit tinyurl.com/jez3x87 for more news about Ellie.

Team CLUTCH showing off their 2015-16 competition robot, along with Ellie, for the yearbook. From left: Kat Fortner, Julia Nichols, Jazz Adams, Melissa Dolfi, Coach Jeremy Watts, Kate Sanders, Katie Centofanti, Alex Owens, Martha Anne Hotinger, and Molly Powers.

8 The Pitsco Network

of parameters. This new girlbot, dubbed “Ellie” by the team,

would stretch their knowledge of robotics and coding and their

understanding of what they could accomplish.

“Ellie was a challenge,” said Kelly. “Constructing, designing, and

programming her was unlike what we have completed with FIRST®

competitions.” There was no Ellie kit. And the only parameters were

those set by the Girls’ Lounge.

Much like Pitsco Education’s R&D Manager Paul Uttley, who

created Mr. Robot, Team CLUTCH had to start from scratch, using

a variety of TETRIX MAX parts, including different-size channels,

brackets, flat plates, connectors, angles, and so forth. They

used TETRIX MAX Tank Treads, along with different motors and

controllers, to make Ellie move. The variety of TETRIX parts available

was definitely a plus. “The best strength of TETRIX, I believe, is the

amount of different products offered,” said Powers.

THE POWER OF ELLIEOne of the most important skills necessary in any endeavor

is not necessarily knowing all the answers, but knowing where

to find those answers. This was one of many lessons Ellie taught

Team CLUTCH. “During the last week of the project, we struggled

with coding the robot in C,” recalled Kelly. “We were familiar with

the code but too inexperienced to code it ourselves.” On a tight

deadline, they turned to a friend who was able to help them get

the code in correctly.

Lessons learned through the Ellie project started with the girls

of Team CLUTCH but will soon reach much further. Ellie debuted at

the Computer Electronics Show (CES) in January and then set off

with the Girls’ Lounge to inspire young women all around the world.

“I was awestruck by the impact the project can have on promoting

girls in pursuing STEM,” said Hotinger, who, along with Powers,

attended Ellie’s debut at CES. “Megan Smith, the chief technology

officer of the United States, told me how important this project is to

encourage more girls, both younger and older, to pursue up-and-

coming careers in science and technology. . . . I know (Ellie) will

inspire many girls in the future.”

Back at Saint Gertrude, Ellie is already inspiring young ladies. “The

girlbot project excited many of the incoming freshmen to join the

team,” said Watts. “We went from having four members to 10! . . . We

will continue to showcase Ellie as a premier accomplishment of Team

CLUTCH to excite girls to not only join our team locally, but to promote

girls’ interest and involvement in robotics and STEM worldwide.”

Above: Ellie the Girlbot’s first day. Her LED screen scrolls many empowering phrases for girls.

Below: Members of Team CLUTCH, from left, Molly Powers, Maddie Crown, and Caitlin Kelly, working on Ellie in August, before the school year began.

“The girlbot project excited many of the incoming freshmen to join the team,” said Watts. “We went from having four members to 10!”

April-May 2016 9

Empowered girls aspire to engineering careersConvincing girls to consider engineering careers doesn’t

happen overnight. It can be a lengthy process that combines the

cultivation of natural curiosity with educational programs that

deliver engaging content and boost confidence. At Texarkana

Independent School District, this drawn-out approach is on full

display, and the positive results are undeniable.

At all grade levels at Texas Middle School, girls have ample

opportunity to work side-by-side with boys in engineering-laden

Pitsco STEM labs that tackle technical terms and processes via

real-world, hands-on projects. This important first step begins to

break down the “that’s not for me” mentality females sometimes

have in math- and science-intensive courses.

Then, at Texas High School, the next step is an Engineering

Design and Presentation course delivered in a similar manner

through hands-on, team-focused engineering Suites from

Pitsco. After this three- to four-year foundation has been built,

girls have the confidence necessary to take on more in-depth

engineering, architecture, and design courses that prepare them

for success in college.

“At first, girls are usually really timid,” said Texas High

School Principal Brad Bailey. “However, girls are typically good

at engineering. For the most part, they pay closer attention to

detail and are better with instructions. As soon as they reach

their comfort zone, they excel at it. It’s just a matter of getting

them to reach that comfort level.”

A few young ladies have reached a comfort level in

engineering/STEM that many of their male peers could only

hope to achieve. Vernicia, a sophomore member of The

Ross Perot STEM Academy at Texas High School, has hopes of

becoming a chemical engineer. The Suites course was more of an

eye-opener than she expected.

“I didn’t know that we’d test out a bunch of different

branches of engineering, and I didn’t know we’d be working on

our own time, that it would be self-paced,” Vernicia explained.

“It showed me I need to focus even more on math if I want to be a

chemical engineer. I need to focus on that and do my very best.”

As for her desire to pursue an engineering degree –

somewhere in the Ivy League if she gets her way, she says, “I

think a lot of girls find it intimidating. You just have to apply

yourself. You have to be willing to go into a field that’s mostly

men, and you have to be willing to do the work. Don’t be scared.

If it’s something you really want to do, I think you should follow

your heart and do it.”

Junior Gabriella is following her heart and using Suites lab

experience to help pave a path to a college where she can earn a

degree in architecture. She’s not intimidated at all by members

of the opposite sex. “Whatever the boys are doing, I want to do

it, and I want to do it better. I just try to go above and beyond

anything that’s asked.”

Eighth grader Brooke is following fast in the footsteps of

her high school counterparts, hoping that her experiences as a

member of the middle school robotics team and three years in the

STEM labs will help her in high school and beyond. “I want to

be an aerospace engineer. To do that, I need to learn more about

natural science and math. This class is really incorporating all of

that into one.”

TEXARKANA, TEXAS

Texas Middle School Facilitator Stacy Bius, left, uses Pitsco curriculum to ignite a STEM spark in young girls.

Just a few of the Texarkana ISD students with their sights set on STEM careers.

February-March 2012 19

FTC® member hands down robotics lessons that have shaped her path

FOREST GROVE, OR – Asking Kjersti Chippindale to describe her

experiences with robotics is a bit like walking under a cool waterfall on

a hot summer day – the initial rush is overwhelming, but then you feel

refreshed and invigorated.

“I have always been inquisitive and eager to learn,” she explains. “Because

of this raw thirst for knowledge, I was interested in everything: sports, reading,

writing, building, drawing, math, science, people, everything!”

Now a sophomore chemistry major at Pacific University in Forest

Grove, OR, Kjersti (pronounced Shares-Tea) admits that her drive to

learn about everything she encounters sometimes makes it difficult

to delve deeper into subjects. “I like to . . . gain a basic understanding

and elementary skill set of a lot of things but never go too in depth.”

Robotics, she says, challenged that notion.

FORGING NEW PATHWAYSWhen Kjersti was 14, she and her friend Emma joined a FIRST®

LEGO® League (FLL®) team started by Emma’s father in Pacifica, CA.

“I had never heard of 14-year-olds being able to build their own robots,”

says Kjersti, “so if I could figure out how to do that, I thought it would

be a pretty cool opportunity.”

With no robotics experience at all, Kjersti became the team

programmer and learned to write and troubleshoot code. When that

team disbanded after one year, Kjersti, Emma, and a mutual friend,

Violet, formed a new team. As Team Antipodes, the girls competed

in FLL for one more year and then moved on to FIRST Tech Challenge

(FTC®) for their sophomore and junior years. As an FTC team, they made

it to the World Championship both years and won the Design Award

their junior year.

ACCEPTING NEW CHALLENGES“There is no doubt that robotics is a challenging experience,”

says Kjersti. “Not only must you build a robot that runs well and looks

nice, but you’ve got to program it; maybe model it in CAD; and finally

present your entire design, programming methods, and team dynamic

to a group of judges, as well as be good sportsmen and get to know

other teams you’re competing with and against.”

For a student who often skated by, just learning the basics, Kjersti

encountered a new challenge in robotics: learning more deeply. “To

succeed in competition,” she explains, “you have to be able to go in

depth in each of those subjects.” Luckily, her love of learning spurred

her on and she began to apply herself even more to her studies.

“Getting the results I liked from hard work in robotics gave me the

motivation for working hard in other areas of my life,” she says. “Having

robotics helped my work ethic grow and become the best it could be.”

Passing the structural beamBy Patty Cooke, Communications Assistant • pcooke@pitsco.com

Inset: Team Antipodes, 2012 FTC® Robot Design World Champions, left to right, Violet Replicon, Kjersti Chippindale , Emma Filar, and Ken Filar (coach). At left, Kjersti Chippindale prepares a TETRIX® robot for FTC.

8 The Pitsco Network

A pair of Pacifica, CA, FIRST® Tech Challenge teams – Team Antipodes and Terra Nova Robotics – used the TETRIX® MAX Building System to create their robots. Indeed, the current Terra Nova Robotics team, the Basilisks, still build with TETRIX MAX.

“TETRIX was fun in that it forced you to think outside of the box,” says former team member Kjersti Chippindale, “but it was also very helpful for teaching basics about engineering and construction. You can learn a lot about structural integrity from putting together a basic frame with a TETRIX kit. . . . Every year the TETRIX kit has improved, which is awesome.”

To learn more about TETRIX MAX and how you can use it to get a leg – or servo – up on the competition, visit www.tetrixrobotics.com.

Teaming up with TETRIX®

LEARNING TO FAILOne of the most valuable lessons any team – indeed,

any person – can learn is what Kjersti calls the art of failing.

“I think that the art of failing is . . . appreciating all aspects

of an idea or solution and learning from that idea before

moving on. Failing the right way forces one to think critically,

which is a great skill to learn no matter what. If you can

fail and recover in robotics, then you can fail in just about

anything and know how to pick yourself back up and

approach the situation from a different perspective.”

Kjersti experienced her first failure in robotics on that

initial FLL team. “We didn’t know each other very well,” she says, “and therefore felt

uncomfortable effectively critiquing ideas during brainstorming sessions.” Despite

winning the Design Award in the only tournament the team entered, they also

finished last in performance.

But in that failure, there were lessons to be learned. “When we started our

new team,” Kjersti explains, “I knew I could draw from that experience to make us

stronger.” The three team members worked on getting to know one another and

bonding so they could critique and brainstorm without repercussion. “After this was

established, failures in all other parts of robotics were easier to learn and recover

from. We took full responsibility for what we put out because we knew that we had

tried our hardest, and we were content with that if nothing else.”

HANDING DOWN THE LESSONS LEARNEDWhile Team Antipodes was an exciting, successful adventure for Kjersti and her

teammates, toward the end of their junior year they felt a need to pass the torch.

“Going into senior year, I began to recognize how much robotics had done for me,

how much I had learned, and how much my work ethic had changed,” says Kjersti,

“and I was immensely grateful for it.”

Working with their coach, the girls recruited enough younger team members to

eventually create two new teams. Both teams did well, and one even made it back to

the World Championship. The teams have since condensed back down to one team:

Terra Nova Robotics. “I am immensely proud of the students who competed and are still

competing,” says Kjersti. “I visit the team as often as I can when I go back home.”

Top: The Lemon Drops (2012-2014), one of two teams mentored by Kjersti and Violet. Middle: Team Antipodes’ success drew a lot of attention. Bottom: Creative designs such as this TETRIX creation helped Team Antipodes become 2012 FTC Design World Champs.

February-March 2015 9

Some well-known names of past TSA competitors echo in the hallways of Southeast High School in Florida. It looks like the name of the 2015 TSA Dragster Design winner’s name might soon join them – and that’s part of her motivation.

“Everyone talks about Ahmad (Hares). Everyone talks about Mark Nanny. ‘They were great, they won, they did this,’” said Merritt Kendzior from Southeast High School. “I want to be one of those names that in a few years some kid hears, ‘Oh, yeah, you gotta be like Merritt.’ I want to inspire people that have an interest to be good to get in and to have this kind of passion for this competition.”

At the 2015 TSA National Conference this summer in Dallas, Texas, the sophomore took her second gold in Dragster Design at the high school level. She also won it one time in middle school. This year, Merritt’s dark, flame-covered dragster smoked the competition based on the race time, drawings, and more. Yet she remains humble about why she wins.

“I’ve been doing it since seventh grade, so I’ve had a little experience with car design. It was just the car. I don’t know – it was just luck,” she said, shrugging. “I enjoy winning, but I love learning more . . . . Even here talking to the other competitors, they might know something you don’t. Getting to know the different competitors and the other TSA events – learning new things – that’s how you move forward in life.

“I think that’s what I enjoy, and winning is just an added bonus.”And she is willing to share her own knowledge with others – to a degree.“If they ask and talk with me, I’m willing to share some things,” she said.

“Not everything – I want to keep some things under wraps – but I like seeing other people succeed. I like helping them get better. I want to help them get better and improve the level of competition, especially in this event.”

Merritt became interested in building cars after a soapbox derby car event she participated in when younger. That year, she learned how to use the CNC mill, and it piqued her interest in creating dragsters with the technology. Her winning cars are designed in a CAD program and cut out on a CNC mill, which she says provides excellent symmetry.

“When hand-doing it, you have to come up with the design almost as you go. You can sketch it out, but if something happens you have to be on the fly to fix it. Whereas with CNC, you can design it, make changes, mill it again,” she said, adding that there is value in learning how to do it the old school way. “I think you should always hand-build a car before you CNC mill because you learn that appreciation of getting to know how to use all these tools, getting to know the materials that you’re working with, and the car itself.”

Though some might be surprised to see a girl caught in designing dragsters, Merritt sees it differently.

CO2 Dragsters

By PJ Graham, Web Content Specialist • pgraham@pitsco.com

TSA National Championships

Florida sophomore takes second Dragster Design gold

A passion for excellence and a thirst for competition have led to a lot of hardware and cool cars for Merritt Kendzior of Bradenton, FL.

6 The Pitsco Network

Six years ago, Ahmad Hares was a high school senior hoping his

dragster, Biocrypt II, would achieve what his 2008 car did not: first place

in Technology Student Association’s (TSA) Dragster Design competition.

Of course, TSA followers know that Biocrypt II came in a dead heat

with another car but set an event record in the tie-breaking run. That’s not

the big story for Ahmad now; the former winner had always dreamed of

working in the automotive or racing industries. In March 2014, that dream

came true when he became a CAE engineer at General Motors in Michigan.

The young engineer loves his job, citing the challenge of complex

problems as part of the reason; however, he is finding other elements of

the field just as intriguing.

“You can have people that are extremely skilled in engineering – and

they can focus on problems and find solutions – but it’s about bringing

all those problems together and all those people together to ultimately

build a car, which is a huge feat. There’s so many people involved, so

many moving parts, that it’s really an interesting field to be in.”

Ahmad’s work career started well

before he graduated high school. His

earlier jobs included working on boats,

laboring on a farm, and detailing cars in his home state of Florida.

“I’d work on beautiful cars like Bentleys, Ford GTs, Corvettes, and

Porsches. That really helps you appreciate what you’re working on.”

After high school, he attended the University of South Florida, but

he wanted work that would steer him in a more professional direction.

“So I got a job at a machine shop just to be there, learn how to make

things with my hands, and make things out of metal,” Ahmad said, though

he later helped the company with computer design on its consulting side.

After a year, he moved on to Transitions Optical, starting as an intern in the

Continuous Improvement area and becoming a production engineer.

“I had the opportunity to learn a lot of stuff about the production

environment, working with operators and technicians, research and

development, quality, logistics, supply chain, and all those different moving

parts that really help make a product happen,” he said. “Whether consciously or

not, I was grooming myself to understand the engineering field from all angles.”

Soon, other opportunities came his way. One of Ahmad’s high

school teachers and mentors, Richard Platt, said he remembered

going to dinner with Ahmad when the young engineer was choosing

between a position with Boeing and one with GM. Platt said he told

him that was a stupid question – Ahmad loves cars.

“I knew his passion was cars, and he followed his heart, which I

think is so important,” Platt said. “I’m so proud of him for doing that.”

2009 TSA winner (now GM engineer):

CO2 Dragsters

‘It’s about the journey’

By PJ Graham, Web Content Specialist • pgraham@pitsco.com

“I’ve never viewed it as a guy or girl thing. I know I get some criticism with me being a girl, and it’s kind of different to a lot of people, but it’s never affected me personally. I love engineering. I didn’t grow up playing with Barbie dolls. I grew up building things. It’s what I’m used to.”

At the Florida TSA state event this year, she participated in at least five events ranging from Children’s Stories to Transportation Modeling, which she also competed in at Nationals. She said the modeling event gives her more skills to take into a career.

“With that event, you’re learning how to do clay model mockups and things like that, so you’re learning this design process that they actually use in the industry,” she said. “One day if I want to design an actual car, I’m going to have to mock it up, I’m going to have to do concept sketches.”

Merritt would like to eventually become an engineer for Formula 1

racing. Before that, however, she wants to keep striking dragster gold.

“I want to have my set of cars at the end. If I was allowed to do it in

college, I’d do it in college. It’s so much fun.”

MERRITT’S DRAGSTER TIME LINE:• 2015: 1st in Dragster Design HS (1.037 sec) and 5th in

Transportation Modeling HS

• 2014: 1st in Dragster Design HS (0.907 sec)

• 2013: 3rd in Dragster Design MS (0.905 sec)

• 2012: 1st in Dragster Design MS (0.892 sec)

Ahmad Hares, right, and his teacher/mentor Richard Platt of Southeast High School in Bradenton, FL

(continued page 28)

October-November 2015 7

The doors to certain careers were not always open to girls

R obert Purnell tells a story to his students every semester. It’s intended for the girls in his Modules

lab, and though the need for it has lessened through the years, it will always be important – if only for its historical significance – a reminder of the way things used to be.

Nearly 40 years ago, when Purnell’s wife wanted to take a drafting course in school, she was told, “It’s for boys.” She and her dad went to the school board, which eventually conceded that she could take the class. Purnell doesn’t miss an opportunity to share the story.

“I say, ‘Girls, you can do anything you want,’” Purnell says. “Thirty or 40 years ago, you couldn’t become an architect, but that’s not the case now.”

The Pitsco Education Modules lab that Purnell facilitates at Yorba Linda Middle School further chips away at the “math, science, and engineering are for boys”

mentality. Girls disassemble a gas-powered engine, build a bridge, design and build a race car, learn CAD software, and build a variety of simple machines, among other activities in the lab.

The scheduling software doesn’t know whether it’s assigning a girl or a boy to the Robotics Module, and curriculum instructions are written with no particular gender in mind.

“When I came home from school, I told my mom I could do CAD,” said Justine, a seventh grade girl. “I thought it would be confusing at first, but now it’s pretty easy.”

Purnell goes another step further when he talks to his classes about his daughter, Lauren, who is a Second Lieutenant in the Air Force. “I show them a picture. ‘OK, girls, this is my daughter. She’s a pilot. She flies for Delta and she flies for the Air Force. I say, ‘You can do anything you want.’”

A supportive principalPurnell has been facilitating the lab

for eight years and has been fortunate to enjoy strong support from his administration along the way. First-year Principal James Hardin is no exception. He recognizes the career enrichment and academic benefits inherent in the Modules

program, and he’s looking forward to the lab being updated to Synergy sometime during the next few months.

“Students are thinking, collaborating, brainstorming. They’re active,” Hardin said. “It’s not just sitting at a desk taking notes, listening to a lecture. They’re engaged. They’re learning. They’re developing. They’re actively learning. That’s huge.”

A lesson to remember

Facilitator Robert Purnell points to his daughter, Lauren, as an example that girls can do anything they want. Below, Lauren is flanked by her parents in the cockpit of a jet she piloted. Bottom left, two girls operate the robot at the Robotics Module. Bottom right, Purnell explains how students should cut out their CO2 dragsters.

California

February-March 2009 25