Northwest Aerospace News June | July Issue No. 15 | Page 19

The team first figured out what topics
teachers most wanted students to learn,
then brainstormed ideas and tested a few
concepts. They had to make sure the
challenge worked for different age groups,
too. Finally, they created instructions and a
materials list.
On September 6, they put their activity to
the test with a small group of middle and
high school students. The challenge for the
students is to build a circuit that transmits
a signal to turn on a light, and then design
an encoding scheme to transmit a secret
message.
“This activity teaches about different types
of wavelengths in the electromagnetic
spectrum and how they can be used to
transmit information,” explained Heidi
Crews, a structural analyst who helped
create the satellite design challenge. “It’s
exciting to see students having fun while
learning these concepts.”
The daughter of a Boeing
employee completes the
air-powered spinning
machine challenge at home
during quarantine. (Boeing
photo)
Students work through the
satellite design challenge
with the help of Boeing and
Millennium Space Systems
employees at an event in
September. (Boeing photo)
During the event, Boeing and Millennium
volunteers helped students with the activity,
suggesting different ways to approach
the challenge if students got stuck.
“It is always exciting to see how different
perspectives can solve problems in many
different ways,” said Murat Piker, a Boeing
mechanical systems design engineer who
also helped design the satellite activity.
“We wanted to leave parts of the design
challenge open-ended so the students could
use their creativity to explore new ways of
transmitting data.”
These engineering design challenges
are just one part of Boeing’s newest
STEM (science, technology, engineering
and math) engagement program, called
FUTURE U. Boeing partners with Discovery
Education — the global leader in
standards-based digital content for grades
K-12 — to create a variety of educational
resources for employees to be empowered
to share their passion for aerospace with
the next generation.
Teams of employees across the company
have been creating design challenges
focused on space exploration, aircraft
design, satellites, sound and more.
“Our engineers are key to making these
challenges successful because they can
break down these complex concepts
into activities that are easy to understand
and fun,” said Reyna Hampton,
FUTURE U program manager. “Inspiring
students to pursue STEM careers
is so important, and Boeing employees
can make a huge impact. We want to
get as many employees involved as
possible.”
Photo Credit: The Boeing Company
FUTURE U activities are available
online at BoeingFUTUREU.com
and include downloadable STEM
activities, Boeing-inspired design
challenge kits and other digital resources.
The activities were designed
for classrooms and small groups of
students, but when the COVID-19
pandemic struck, the digital resources
were uniquely suited to help
students keep learning while stuck at
home. Many of the design challenges
can be completed with simple
household items like plastic cups,
balloons and rubber bands.
JUNE | JULY 2020 ISSUE NO. 15 19