CAREERplus2

Our capstone program, CAREERplus 2 for 11th and 12th grades, takes students through a rigorous 180-day STEM program with an emphasis on engineering. Students engage in the work of engineers and engineering support technicians.

When CAREERplus2 was designed it was with the express purpose of being inclusive so all students, not just the academically gifted, would have an opportunity to experience STEM learning. The combination of CAREERplus and CAREERplus2 enables students of various abilities to participate in a rigorous course.

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Project Based Learning (PBL)

CAREERplus2 delivers PBL in a powerful way.

Learn by Doing - PBL allows students to learn by doing as they work though a number of directed problems and projects.

Student Presentations - Throughout the curriculum, students lead class presentations on concepts such as systems, technical communications, and ethics. They defend their solutions in front of their peers.

Design Briefs & Case Studies - PBL allows students to solve realistic engineering problems with hands-on projects. Both design briefs and case studies motivate students to think critically while devloping their own unique solutions.

Courses Offered:

Alternative Energy & Environment

Alternative Energy and Environment addresses some of the more compelling challenges of our global society. Whether it’s how to dispose of old batteries from electric vehicles or the types of composites for wind turbine blades and lightweight car bodies, students will be fascinated by this track. Students begin this track by exploring the engineering and development behind the General Motors EV1, a fast little electric car produced between 1996 and 1998. A total of 1,117 vehicles were made and leased. Every single one of them was destroyed 6 years later in spite of positive feedback, long waiting lists and pleas by lessees who wanted to keep them.

In the second part of the track, students are asked to design, manufacture and test a portable parabolic oven for use in impoverished areas where wood and other fuels for fires are not available.

From concept to optimization of the finished product, students replicate the processes used by engineers and technicians to develop new products. The final stage of the design is to perform testing sequences to determine the BTU output of their design and then analyze the methods they could use to optimize the output.

Architecture & Construction

Architecture and Construction surround us in our everyday life. Students in the Architecture and Construction track begin by designing a series of truss structures using SolidWorks. Then, using SolidWorks Simulation, the Finite Element Analysis (FEA) tool within SolidWorks, students can test their design on the computer.

SolidWorks Simulation is an easy-to-use design validation program that shows engineers how their design will behave as physical objects. Students go outdoors to perform soil sampling tests that determine if the soil within the school area is subject to liquefaction. This is a great way for students to see how architects, mechanical engineers, civil engineers and technicians work together for the successful completion of a project.

To complete this track, students use an architectural design software program to design a portable emergency shelter that can be tracked or airlifted into a disaster area.

Manufacturing & Materials

We encounter thousands of objects everyday… find out why and how they are made. Manufacturing and Materials provides students with the opportunity to gain an understanding of how technicians and engineers use 3-D design software to build components and assemblies.

The entire track is based on the manufacturing of a solid body electric guitar. From analyzing the materials required, to selecting electronic components, to the machining of the parts using a CNC router, students work through the entire product design and engineering process. Using Solid Works, students follow a series of custom tutorials to design the headstock, tuning keys and guitar body, adding their own custom features.

Using the assembly features of SolidWorks, they explore how components fit together. In the final portion of the track, students use the Techno-Isel CNC router and MasterCAM software to machine their design components.

Robotics

From science fiction to factory floors, students begin the Robotics track with an exploration into the research and development process of autonomous guided vehicles used in the DARPA Grand Challenge. Created in response to a Congressional and Department of Defense mandate, the DARPA Grand Challenge was a field test intended to accelerate research and development in autonomous ground vehicles.

Next, students use SolidWorks software and a set of custom developed tutorials to design a series of robotic components for use in a mobile robot. The robotic platform used within this track is the durable and popular GEARS Robotics system. Instructors may also opt to allow students to develop their GEARS robotic platforms for competitions during the 20-day culminating experience of CAREERplus 2.