The district recently offered a pre-engineering academy for twenty middle school students as part of the district’s summer enrichment programming. Project Lead the Way provides a curriculum for this summertime camp experience that appears to be all fun and games at first glance, but in actuality prepares students for the rigors of high school science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) classes. The critical thinking, creative problem-solving and collaboration skills that campers learn at Gateway Academy will benefit them for a lifetime. The camp is offered at a nominal cost based on the generosity of funding provided by Project Lead the Way and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers.

Ballston Spa’s 2010 Gateway Academy Summer Enrichment Program focuses on energy and transportation.  The program specifically focuses on creating an awareness of the importance of teamwork and communication during the innovative process.  Activities for the week include constructing the tallest tower made of paper that stands on its own for a minute, a bottle rocket, bridge spans, and a catapult.  Students will design a structure that combines simple machines to propel a model car, design a machine to deploy a device that will cap a simulated oil well and experiment with ways to clean up an oil spill.

Participants toured the SuperPower facility in Schenectady as well as the Hudson Valley Community College TEC-SMART facility in Malta recently.  While at SuperPower the students had the opportunity to learn about the engineering design process and its implementation in a manufacturing setting.  In addition, students learned about modern manufacturing in “clean rooms”.  At the TEC-SMART facility the students received a tour featuring more than a dozen state-of-the-art classrooms and laboratories that are being used to train the local workforce in semiconductor manufacturing green technologies, including photovoltaic, home energy efficiency, geothermal, alternative fuels and wind energy.  Through this trip students had the opportunity to increase their awareness of career opportunities in STEM fields.

The week culminated with a demonstration for their families of the projects that the students created. The course was taught by Middle School Technology instructor Mr. Darryl Ackroyd and organized by K-12 Science coordinator Diane Irwin. For additional information, please contact the Ballston Spa High School at 884-7150.