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Douglas P. Hart. Barragán, Patrick R Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering 2009-06-30T16:17:47Z 2009-06-30T16:17:47Z 2008 2008 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/45786 318901481 Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2008. The problem of a lack of science and engineering opportunities for youth has been identified. While other programs and attempted solutions exist, a novel approach involving creating self-contained project classes, called modules, and trading them between institutions is proposed. This idea intends to make these lacking opportunities available while overcoming some of the current problems opposing this availability namely insufficient resources and staff. While limited time and resources prevents the complete testing of the idea, the development of a single module to the point before developing a trading system is implemented. The project chosen is the construction and operation of the Stirling Engine using a design borrowed from MIT course 2.670. The module is tested with 15 4th to 7th grade home-schooled students in Los Angeles, Ca. Observations and participant feedback are gathered. Changes including the shortening of lectures, simplification of the project, and addition of testing are proposed. The information gathered from the test suggests that with a trading system in place, these modules can expose students to science and engineering and generate excitement for the fields. by Patrick R. Barragán. S.B. 58 p. eng Massachusetts Institute of Technology M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 Mechanical Engineering. Exciting youth about science and engineering : the Stirling Engine class Stirling Engine class Thesis application/pdf false Publication unknown unknown <Publication xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/1.1/" id="397d655c-b8ec-4556-b5b7-50bcf03f4edd"> <Type xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/vocab/COAR_Publication_Types">http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_1843</Type> <Language>eng</Language> <Title>Exciting youth about science and engineering : the Stirling Engine class</Title> <Subtitle>Stirling Engine class</Subtitle> <PublishedIn> <Publication> </Publication> </PublishedIn> <PublicationDate>2008</PublicationDate> <Authors> <Author> <DisplayName>Barragán, Patrick R</DisplayName> <Affiliation> <OrgUnit> </OrgUnit> </Affiliation> </Author> </Authors> <Editors> </Editors> <Publishers> <Publisher> <DisplayName>Massachusetts Institute of Technology</DisplayName> <OrgUnit /> </Publisher> </Publishers> <License>http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582</License> <Keyword>Mechanical Engineering.</Keyword> <Abstract>The problem of a lack of science and engineering opportunities for youth has been identified. While other programs and attempted solutions exist, a novel approach involving creating self-contained project classes, called modules, and trading them between institutions is proposed. This idea intends to make these lacking opportunities available while overcoming some of the current problems opposing this availability namely insufficient resources and staff. While limited time and resources prevents the complete testing of the idea, the development of a single module to the point before developing a trading system is implemented. The project chosen is the construction and operation of the Stirling Engine using a design borrowed from MIT course 2.670. The module is tested with 15 4th to 7th grade home-schooled students in Los Angeles, Ca. Observations and participant feedback are gathered. Changes including the shortening of lectures, simplification of the project, and addition of testing are proposed. The information gathered from the test suggests that with a trading system in place, these modules can expose students to science and engineering and generate excitement for the fields.</Abstract> <Access xmlns="http://purl.org/coar/access_right" > </Access> </Publication>