Project: The Self-Driving Car
We’ve recently reported on the Advanced Engineering I playground design project, but what exactly is keeping the younger group busy right now? If you pass by Room 401 most any afternoon, you’ll find twelve freshmen and sophomores, six computers, three VEX robotics sets, two T.A.s, and one teacher very hard at work! The project? It’s […]
Visit to UCSB Mechanical Engineering Department
On Monday of this week, sixteen Providence teachers and students took a trip out to UCSB, to visit the Mechanical Engineering department. Kirk Fields, Senior Development Engineer, met the group there and gave a tour of a few of the lab spaces. The “clean room” was the first stop, and we noted that this is […]
Upcoming Event: MS Final Challenge!
In the Providence Middle School, fourteen 7th and 8th Graders are working busily on their capstone project for the semester: the Intro to Engineering Final Challenge! Every semester, the students in this elective are given a game-style challenge to complete, which involves designing, building, and programming a robot using LEGO Mindstorms EV3 sets. This semester’s challenge […]
Scott Kelly at the Granada
Some of our readers might be aware of the historic experience of Captain Scott Kelly, the American astronaut who spent approximately a year on the International Space Station. Captain Kelly carried out over 400 scientific experiments in his time in orbit, did several spacewalks, and took hundreds of incredible photos. Since his return, he has toured […]
Guest Speaker: Nathan Gates
Last Friday, our Foundations of Engineering II group was privileged to hear from retired aerospace engineer Dr. Nathan Gates. Dr. Gates has worked for many years at Astro Aerospace, based in Carpinteria, and is recently retired. Dr Gates shows a telescoping boom design that he worked on Dr. Gates’ impressive career was mainly focused on […]
Grant Awarded: EnergyPartners Fund
As part of their Community Design Project, the six members of the Advanced Engineering I class worked jointly on a grant request to a local organization, the EnergyPartners Fund. This grant, totaling $1,500, was aimed at purchasing the necessary raw materials and tools for actually building the planned play structure. Just to be clear, it was Jake, […]
Bridges, Cranes, Robots
After some humble beginnings to the semester (Newton’s Laws, basic structural mechanics, and gear ratios), we have had a string of exciting projects in our middle school engineering elective. Within the last few weeks, students have built railway bridges, designed high-torque crane systems, and are now writing code for simple three-wheeled robots. Mr Meadth stands […]
Robots and Steel
We had two exciting experiences recently in the high school Academy. Firstly, in the 9th/10th Grade Foundations of Engineering group, we decided to take a break from the rigours of trigonometry to see some robotics in action. Scott Gary, a Providence parent, brought in his Battle Bot–The Piecemaker! The Piecemaker has competed in several events about fifteen […]
Advanced Engineering: Community Design Project
We’re in the fourth week of school now, so it’s a great time to unveil our Big Idea for the 2016-2017 school year. The Advanced Engineering group, comprising Tys, Aaron, Sarah Jane, Kylie, Jake, and Caleb, have been given a momentous task to accomplish. From left: Jake, Caleb, Aaron, Tys, Mr Meadth, Kylie, Sarah Jane,and […]
Engineering at Providence: The First Few Weeks
As we step into the 9th day of classes, I’d like to give an update on all things engineering at Providence. With eighteen high schoolers in the Academy, fourteen middle schoolers in the elective, and three different classes between them, there’s a lot going on! In the high school, we talked about how all technology […]