Mechanical Engineering Professors Amy Marconet, Liang Pan and Kejie Zhao developed a hands-on workshop on heat, light, and power and have reached over 150 kids in the greater Lafayette area aleady this summer.  The themes were “See the Heat, Build a Working Camera and Make a Fruit Battery.” 

Then, C Design labs helped facilitate a workshop on July 25, 2015 through Imagination Station in Lafayette. Learning science hands-on through design and making was very engaging to the children.It was another successful workshop with more than 60 children (and their parents/familiies) attending. Professor Marconnet along with graduate students Jiahong Fu and Aalok Gaitonde led the MTEC lab demonstrations.

See The Heat (MTEC Lab): Have you ever wondered why the metal parts of your desk feel colder than the wooden top? Or grabbed your seat belt on a hot day to find the metal buckle feels like it burns you, but he cloth part is tolerable? Let’s explore the heat!

Optics & Cameras (Liang Pan's Lab): Do you want to learn about lights and cameras? how the pictures are taken inside a film camera? Let’s build a working camera by ourselves and have some fun to take some pictures with it!

Batteries (Kejie Zhao's Lab): Ever heard of a fruit battery? Who knew we could make our own batteries? Let’s create some with the use of fruits and slime to power up a bulb light.