Community Day: Saturday, Feb. 25
Innovative Technologies Complex, Binghamton University (in-person)
Sponsored by Watson College Dean's Office and Watson Career and Alumni Connections
In celebration of National Engineers Week from Feb. 19-25, Watson College will host our annual Community Day event for children and their families. These fun, hands-on STEM activities are free and open to all ages!
- Morning session: 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
- Afternoon session: 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Capacity is limited to 110 children per session, and both sessions are now full. Masks are optional indoors.
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Morning Session: 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
Amateur Radio
In times of disaster, when regular communications channels fail, ham radio operators can swing into action to assist emergency efforts and work with public service agencies. Amateur radio operators make friends around the world and can even communicate with astronauts on the International Space Station.
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: Hallway near 2001
Arduino Projects Exhibit
Engineering Design Division
Investigate interactive projects built by our student teams using Arduino, an open-source prototyping platform. Projects include Bop-it, Horse Race, Maze Runner, Reaction Time Tester, Simon Says, Text Adventure and Whack-a-Mole.
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: Hallway near 2001
Bottle Rocket Launcher
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Build and launch rockets into the sky using pressure.
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school
Location: Rotunda/COE Link
Build-an-Ear Workshop
Biomedical Engineering Society
Ever wonder why ears look the way they do? Explore the science of sounds by building ear trumpets and listening to your favorite tunes! You will also learn about sound waves, ear shapes and the history of hearing aids. Be sure to use quiet voices!
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: Room 2008E
Create a Phone Using a Cup and String
Theta Tau (Professional Engineering Fraternity)
Ever wondered how sound works? Build your own string-and-cup phone to talk to your friends while learning how sound travels!
Age group: Elementary school
Location: COE Multipurpose Room
DIY Mech-Hand
Watson College Scholars Program
Build a robot arm and compete to pick up different objects for prizes.
Age groups: Middle school, high school
Location: Rotunda
Drive the Mars Rover
Binghamton University Rover Team
Check out our Mars Rover Prototype! Learn about all our subsystems and how we apply engineering principles to design, prototype and build a functioning rover. We are looking for some skilled pilots to help test drive the rover and help us make additions. You can also enter our raffle to win the naming rights to our rover!
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: Rotunda
Egg Drop
Pi Tau Sigma (Mechanical Engineering Honor Society)
Design a device that will protect an egg from breaking after a high fall! Use various supplies to create and test your design! Some ideas include using plastic sandwich bags, tape, paper cups, popsicle sticks, cotton balls and balloons. All supplies will be provided. Get creative! Drops will be held at 11 and 11:50 a.m.
Age group: Elementary school
Location: Room 2008W
Electromagnetic Silent Disco
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Our dance floor uses electromagnetic fields instead of sound. You can wind a loop of wire and attach it to a pair of earbuds so that you can hear the music when you hop on the dance floor. We'll show you some moves that illustrate how the fields work.
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: Seymour Kunis Media Core, Room 2303
Fighting Bot Matches and Simple 3D Printing Lesson
Watson Combat Robotics League
Check out a live WCRL competition between two fighting robots — only one will remain! Plus, learn about 3D printing and take home a little 3D printed figurine.
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: Rotunda
Generate Electricity from Wind
Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers
Ever seen those giant wind turbines in the mountains? Did you know they supply power to your house? Join us to create you very own wind turbine generator!
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school
Location: Room 1006
It's a 3D World Out There
Roberson Museum and Science Center
Let's construct polygons, polyhedra and more! Using K'NEX materials, participants will build, investigate and see the patterns in 3D objects.
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school
Location: COE Hallway below Multipurpose Room
Leonardo Da Vinci Popsicle Stick Bridge
Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineering and Society of Women Engineers
Help us to create a bridge of any shape or size using popsicle sticks.
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: 2nd floor above registration
Make Your Own Lava Lamps
American Society for Engineering Education
Do you want to learn about density? Stop by our station to create your very own lava lamp! Choose what color you want and watch a super-cool reaction happen right in front of your eyes.
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school
Location: COE Hallway below Multipurpose Room
Marshmallow Catapult Skee-Ball
Tau Beta Pi (Engineering Honor Society)
Think you can build the best catapult? Customize your own marshmallow launcher with three simple materials: popsicle sticks, rubber bands and a spoon! Put your device to the test with our skee-ball competition!
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school
Location: Room 1304
Paper Circuits
Watson College Scholars Program
Create little paper circuits that allow you to draw a picture and then incorporate small LED lights using a very basic-level circuit (some wire and a tiny battery).
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school
Location: Hallway near 1006
Paper Crafts with LED Circuits
Eta Kappa Nu (Electrical and Electronics Engineering Honor Society)
Brighten up your paper crafts with LED circuits! Design your own card or paper creation and add LED lights through a battery-powered circuit. Take it home as a gift or decorate your room with your own circuit creation.
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: Hallway near 1006
Pasta and Marshmallow Towers
Alpha Omega Epsilon
Come build a pasta and marshmallow tower! Test the strength of different pasta shapes and try to build the tallest skyscraper.
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: COE Hallway below Multipurpose Room
Pimp My Ride
Watson College Scholars Program
Want to put your engineering skills to the test in a fast-paced competition for the ages? Have you ever wanted to build your dream car? Build a car out of household items and race them against your competitors — the fastest car gets bragging rights!
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: Hallway by 1414
Rocket Challenge
National Society of Black Engineers
Participants will work in teams to build an Alka-Seltzer rocket that can carry a payload of clay and hit a target several feet away.
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: Room 2008E
Round and Round - Build an Electric Motor
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Build a simple electric motor out of a battery, a magnet, and some wire and paper clips! Using basic principles of electromagnetics, watch as your wire coil spins up like a real motor. After you are done, you have your own electric motor to take home and play with!
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school
Location: Rotunda
Rubber-Band Racers and SuperCar Driving Simulator
Society of Automotive Engineers
Rubber Band Racers: Want to learn what makes a fast car? In this activity, you will get to build your own miniature racecars powered by rubber bands, and then race your friends! This demo will introduce you to the concepts of power, torque, friction and types of energy.
Racing Simulator: Now that you know what makes a car go fast, let's put you behind the wheel! Feel like a real race car driver in the seat of our repurposed 2019 Student Formula chassis. Take a lap on a famous track like the pros do, learn how to navigate corners and compete to set the fastest lap time in our realistic racing rig!
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: Rotunda
Tallest Tower Tournament
Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
Test your building skills using magnetic tiles and create the tallest and strongest tower! Top the previous high score and win a delicious prize.
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: Room 2001
Seismic Shakedown
Mechanical Contractors Association
Using provided silly putty and straws, participants will create their own structure with the putty holding together joints. Then, their structures will be placed on the seismic simulator (a folder, ruler and tennis ball apparatus) and shaken down to see what kind of building structures hold up the best during an earthquake event.
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: Room 2008W
Unplugged Coding with Origami
Girls Who Code
Learn about one of the most fundamental parts of coding: Algorithms. Follow the provided algorithm to create your very own origami art! Learn how to debug your algorithm if you miss a step in your creation, or create your own algorithm to create a new origami piece!
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: Main lobby near stairs
Water Puzzles
Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering Program
Explore the magic of a water surface by building shapes from 3D-printed building blocks.
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school
Location: Rotunda
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Afternoon Session: 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Amateur Radio
In times of disaster, when regular communications channels fail, ham radio operators can swing into action to assist emergency efforts and work with public service agencies. Amateur radio operators make friends around the world and can even communicate with astronauts on the International Space Station.
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: Hallway near 2001
Arduino Projects Exhibit
Engineering Design Division
Investigate interactive projects built by our student teams using Arduino, an open-source prototyping platform. Projects include Bop-it, Horse Race, Maze Runner, Reaction Time Tester, Simon Says, Text Adventure and Whack-a-Mole.
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: Hallway near 2001
Bottle Rocket Launcher
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
Build and launch rockets into the sky using pressure.
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school
Location: Rotunda/COE Link
Build-an-Ear Workshop
Biomedical Engineering Society
Ever wonder why ears look the way they do? Explore the science of sounds by building ear trumpets and listening to your favorite tunes! You will also learn about sound waves, ear shapes and the history of hearing aids. Be sure to use quiet voices!
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: Room 2008E
Create a Phone Using a Cup and String
Theta Tau (Professional Engineering Fraternity)
Ever wondered how sound works? Build your own string-and-cup phone to talk to your friends while learning how sound travels!
Age group: Elementary school
Location: COE Multipurpose Room
Drive the Mars Rover
Binghamton University Rover Team
Check out our Mars Rover Prototype! Learn about all our subsystems and how we apply engineering principles to design, prototype and build a functioning rover. We are looking for some skilled pilots to help test drive the rover and help us make additions. You can also enter our raffle to win the naming rights to our rover!
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: Rotunda
Egg Drop
Pi Tau Sigma (Mechanical Engineering Honor Society)
Design a device that will protect an egg from breaking after a high fall! Use various supplies to create and test your design! Some ideas include using plastic sandwich bags, tape, paper cups, popsicle sticks, cotton balls and balloons. All supplies will be provided. Get creative! Drops will be held at 2:30 and 3:20 p.m.
Age group: Elementary school
Location: Room 2008W
Electromagnetic Silent Disco
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Our dance floor uses electromagnetic fields instead of sound. You can wind a loop of wire and attach it to a pair of earbuds so that you can hear the music when you hop on the dance floor. We'll show you some moves that illustrate how the fields work.
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: Seymour Kunis Media Core, Room 2303
Elephant Toothpaste
Watson College Scholars Program
Elephant toothpaste is a foamy substance caused by the rapid decomposition of hydrogen peroxide using potassium iodide or yeast and warm water as a catalyst. How rapidly the reaction proceeds will depend on the concentration of hydrogen peroxide.
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: Rotunda/COE Link
Fighting Bot Matches and Simple 3D Printing Lesson
Watson Combat Robotics League
Check out a live WCRL competition between two fighting robots — only one will remain! Plus, learn about 3D printing and take home a little 3D printed figurine.
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: Rotunda
Float Your Boat
Alpha Pi Mu
Can you float your boat? Work with popsicle sticks, tape, string and paper to craft your ideal boat, then test it out! How many coins can it hold?
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school,
Location: COE Hallway below Multipurpose Room
Generate Electricity from Wind
Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers
Ever seen those giant wind turbines in the mountains? Did you know they supply power to your house? Join us to create you very own wind turbine generator!
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school
Location: Room 1006
Leonardo Da Vinci Popsicle Stick Bridge
Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineering and Society of Women Engineers
Help us to create a bridge of any shape or size using popsicle sticks.
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: 2nd floor above registration
Make Your Own Lava Lamps
American Society for Engineering Education
Do you want to learn about density? Stop by our station to create your very own lava lamp! Choose what color you want and watch a super-cool reaction happen right in front of your eyes.
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school
Location: COE Hallway below Multipurpose Room
Marshmallow Catapult Skee-Ball
Tau Beta Pi (Engineering Honor Society)
Think you can build the best catapult? Customize your own marshmallow launcher with three simple materials: popsicle sticks, rubber bands and a spoon! Put your device to the test with our skee-ball competition!
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school
Location: Room 1304
Mechanical Combat
Watson College Scholars Program
Participants will make fun catapults and compete for prizes.
Age group: Elementary school
Location: Room 2008W
Model Spine
Alpha Eta Mu Beta
Make an easy spine model by using home items and learn how the spine works!
Age group: Elementary school
Location: COE Hallway below Multipurpose Room
Oobleck Pool
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers
Is oobleck a solid or liquid? Come join us to find out how oobleck is more than just slime and can be liquid and solid. You’ll get to see how it is made and get to feel it in both its states.
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school
Location: Rotunda
Paper Circuits
Watson College Scholars Program
Create little paper circuits that allow you to draw a picture and then incorporate small LED lights using a very basic-level circuit (some wire and a tiny battery).
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school
Location: Hallway near 1006
Paper Crafts with LED Circuits
Eta Kappa Nu (Electrical and Electronics Engineering Honor Society)
Brighten up your paper crafts with LED circuits! Design your own card or paper creation and add LED lights through a battery-powered circuit. Take it home as a gift or decorate your room with your own circuit creation.
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: Hallway near 1006
Pasta and Marshmallow Towers
Alpha Omega Epsilon
Come build a pasta and marshmallow tower! Test the strength of different pasta shapes and try to build the tallest skyscraper.
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: COE Hallway below Multipurpose Room
Rocket Challenge
National Society of Black Engineers
Participants will work in teams to build an Alka-Seltzer rocket that can carry a payload of clay and hit a target several feet away.
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: Room 2008E
Round and Round - Build an Electric Motor
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Build a simple electric motor out of a battery, a magnet, and some wire and paper clips! Using basic principles of electromagnetics, watch as your wire coil spins up like a real motor. After you are done, you have your own electric motor to take home and play with!
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school
Location: Rotunda
Rubber-Band Racers and SuperCar Driving Simulator
Society of Automotive Engineers
Rubber Band Racers: Want to learn what makes a fast car? In this activity, you will get to build your own miniature racecars powered by rubber bands, and then race your friends! This demo will introduce you to the concepts of power, torque, friction and types of energy.
Racing Simulator: Now that you know what makes a car go fast, let's put you behind the wheel! Feel like a real race car driver in the seat of our repurposed 2019 Student Formula chassis. Take a lap on a famous track like the pros do, learn how to navigate corners and compete to set the fastest lap time in our realistic racing rig!
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: Rotunda
Secret Messages
Women in Tech
Test your problem-solving skills by encrypting and decrypting secret messages! Make your own secret message codes to give to your friends and family to solve.
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: Hallway by 1414
Tallest Tower Tournament
Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
Test your building skills using magnetic tiles and create the tallest and strongest tower! Top the previous high score and win a delicious prize.
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: Room 2001
Unplugged Coding with Origami
Girls Who Code
Learn about one of the most fundamental parts of coding: Algorithms. Follow the provided algorithm to create your very own origami art! Learn how to debug your algorithm if you miss a step in your creation, or create your own algorithm to create a new origami piece!
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school, high school
Location: Main lobby near stairs
Water Puzzles
Department of Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science and Engineering Program
Explore the magic of a water surface by building shapes from 3D-printed building blocks.
Age groups: Elementary school, middle school
Location: Rotunda
Sponsors
Thank you to all those who support Watson College's Engineers Week!
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