Seniors at the Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy recently traveled to Silicon Valley for their annual fall field trip. The goal of the four-day trek was threefold:
To inspire students and explore ideas for their senior-year mechatronics installations; to expose students to a variety of work environments and career opportunities in design, technology and engineering; and to promote bonding and team-building within the senior class.
This year, seniors visited and toured Autodesk, Jameco Electronics, Exploratorium, Walt Disney Family Museum, Intel, Computer History Museum, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, NASA’s Ames Research Center, and Golden Gate Bridge.
Senior Sam Haj thought the trip was outstanding: “Although I’ve been to San Francisco before, this experience was unlike anything I had ever experienced,” he said.
“The diverse spectrum of businesses, museums and research facilities we visited gave us a glimpse of the future — the real-world applications of what we have been learning about in the engineering academy these past three years,” he said.
Toby Wahlberg, also a senior in the DPEA, had never been to the Bay Area. She was thrilled to see San Francisco and amazed at the high number of top American tech companies in the region.
The tour she found most valuable was at Autodesk, an American multinational software corporation in San Rafael that makes software for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media and entertainment industries.
“The trip to Autodesk made me aware of the sheer number and breadth of careers that will be open to me. I had never before thought about how much engineering goes into moviemaking or game building… all the things that entertain us.”
For Haj, the Exploratorium was the most interesting place they visited. “The best part of the trip, hands-down, was getting to spend five hours in the Exploratorium,” he said.
“The myriad exhibits there, demonstrating everything from light refraction to water vapor ‘cloud tunnels’ piqued my imagination better than a Dr. Seuss children’s book ever could,” he said.
Director Amir Abo-Shaeer presented the DPEA program and the mission of the senior Mechatronics experience to exhibit designers at the Exploratorium.
All DPEA seniors got an inside look at the design/creation/shop space where exhibits are brought to life. Some seniors had the opportunity to showcase exhibits on the floor of the Exploratorium and interact with people at the museum.
The fall field trip also promotes bonding among the senior class, something that’s key for successful teamwork during the senior Mechatronics year.
The Mechatronics capstone courses are structured to simulate a robust internship in an engineering company. Students spend two or three periods per day in the DPEA working in teams to develop installations and interactive exhibits.
The quality of their projects is commensurate to what one might find in science and tech museums, such as the Exploratorium in San Francisco and the Wolf Museum of Exploration and Innovation (MOXI) in Santa Barbara, DPEA said.
The capstone Mechatronics experience provides students with the opportunity to engage in authentic product development and deployment, which is unique in the context of secondary public education.
After the trip, Haj said, “It’s invigorating to realize that the tools and technology we use in our own school are just as advanced as those of professionals in industrial engineering companies,
“We’re creating whimsical, elaborate projects and working side-by-side with trailblazers in the engineering industry across the state. The experiences we are gaining daily compares to those of graduate engineering students years ahead of us.”
For more information about DPEA, visit www.dpengineering.org or contact Becca Summers, 968-2541 ext. 4668.
— Rebecca Summers for Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy.