Spring Break
Local students make foam, slime at High School Day
Anthony Cesarini
Issue date: 2/22/08 Section: News
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Over 200 students from about 20 area high schools attended the event, at which students were given the opportunity to participate in three group activities that were designed to educate them about engineering and the college experience.
According to Joanne Ferroni, director of outreach for the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics, and Amy Campbell, director of special projects for CoE, all area high schools were invited to the event, which has been held for three straight years.
"We want to introduce students to engineering … to give them a taste of it," Ferroni said.
In one activity, students created chunks of foam by mixing two chemical compounds. The students also combined Borax and polyvinyl alcohol to create slime, according to Holly Burnside, a staff member in the Drexel Nanotechnology Institute, who helped during the event.
The second activity gave students the opportunity to build cars from K'Nex toys and launch them down a ramp in an experiment about G-Forces, and a third event, "Music, Entertainment and Technology," was presented by Lloyd Emelle, an electrical engineering student, in Verizon's MyHome 2.0 videos.
Campbell said it was important for the college to make sure students feel that Drexel is open and approachable.
"We want students to get excited," Ferroni said.
Most teachers said they heard about the event through the CoE's Research Experience for Teachers, a program held each summer that gives teachers the opportunity to perform research at Drexel.
Curt Roberts, a physics teacher at Franklin Towne Charter High School, traveled to Drexel with 19 students. According to Roberts, High School Day is the first opportunity many of his students have had to experience college.
Besides being enthused about getting a day off from school, he says many of his students get excited about college after going to the event.
"I hear them saying, 'Yes, I can go to college,'" Roberts said.
One of Roberts' students, Chelsea Krecko, agreed.
"I've already learned about elements, but actually making stuff with them is new to me," she said.
Krecko said that after experiencing High School Day, she is now seriously thinking about attending college.
Marcus Rego, a student from Delran High School in Delran, N.J., was excited after getting a chance to make foam, slime, and learn about G-Forces.
"I've been thinking about this school," he said. "This gave me a chance to view the college."
Rego said that High School Day has made Drexel more appealing to him.
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