E-MAP Chamber Project - 2006

Tuscaloosa Water Park

Greetings E-MAP Student! The West Alabama Chamber of Commerce has in mind that the area around Lake Nichol in Tuscaloosa County might make a wonderful site for a water-related theme park. The project is complex with many different design elements and challenges. This term during your E-MAP experience you will develop some useful insight to participate in planning such a project. During your E-MAP work, you will experience the interrelationship between mathematics and engineering. Math is the language of science and engineers apply scientific principles to real-world projects. This concept will be presented to you in four distinct ways:

• “hands-on” laboratory experiments in several engineering disciplines; • interactions with practicing engineers; exciting field trips to real-world installations where engineers work such as rocket

E-MAP Chamber Project - 2006

Tuscaloosa Water Park

• plants, hydroelectric dams, and heavy industry; and • the application of some basic design and math principles learned to this

Chamber Project! The concept of the Chamber Project is as follows: Individually and in teams, you will take the elements of math and science from your lab experiments, field trips, and interviews with practicing engineers and use them to investigate engineering aspects of design related to a proposed water theme park in the Lake Nichol area. At the end of the project, your group will present aspects of the theme park design to the Chamber of Commerce Environmental Task Force and communicate to them what you’ve learned. Groups are made up of people with the same ‘home lab’. Presentations are to include the following elements

• A virtual model of your theme park layout that may include simulated rides, or anything else that you can think of that will sell people think on this great idea. Software/computer programs etc will be available for use by teams.

• A group PowerPoint presentation showing how and where the math and science from your home lab and field trip can be applied to the project – at a minimum it should answer the 6 questions presented in the attached sheets.

• Each student must complete these sheets individually for each lab. • Each group should consider individual answers in preparing their final

presentation. This project is meant to be challenging and fun. Exercise your imagination, creativity, and budding engineering skills. The sheets attached should help you in conducting this exercise.

E-MAP Chamber Project - 2006

Tuscaloosa Water Park

1. Engineering laboratory Describe the laboratory experiment by answering the following:

a) Identify the lab focus b) Describe the experimental procedure c) Summarize the results: Use graphics - diagrams, charts, or graphs as

necessary

2. Describe with words the Basic Engineering Principle Behind Laboratory For example

“ The engineering principle behind this lab was as follows, for most fluids viscosity decreases as temperature increases however there are

exceptions to this principle”

3. Basic Math Behind Laboratory Describe or give an example of the math idea or concept associated with this lab experiment.

4. Application to chamber project Where can this lab principle be applied to your Tuscaloosa water park design?

5. Experience from Related Field Trip a) What field trip(s) are related to this scientific, engineering, or mathematic

principle in this experiment? Explain how?

6. Discussions with engineers Discuss this lab with a practicing engineer. Ask them how this principle can be applied in design and if they have ever used this principle their engineering design practice.

E-MAP Mentor Project Interview an ENGINEER At some point in your engineering career you will realize the value of a mentor – someone that you work under, look up to, respect, and admire. Those relationships will be extremely valuable for developing your career. For now, however, you may not have someone in the engineering profession that fills that role. Not-to-fear! The E-MAP program is designed so that you get to know local engineering professionals during sponsored events, outings, and meetings. Tuscaloosa has a large population of extremely talented engineering professionals who have done many outstanding projects that may be interesting to you. This exercise is designed to help you meet engineering professionals and get a chance to ask them questions, discover what they do, and learn about their motivation and ethics. In short, you get to Interview and Engineer. During one of the E-MAP outings you as you mingle among the professionals, you should ask them the following “seed” questions:

1. What type of engineering do you do? 2. How long have you been working as an engineer? 3. What types of projects have you worked on? 4. What is the most memorable project that you have done in your career? 5. What motivated you to become an engineer? 6. Are there ethical standards that you have to meet as an engineer? 7. What has your career been like?

As you talk with the engineer, you may find that there is more that you would like to learn, know, or talk about. Keep asking questions and listening to what they have to say. It always helps to take notes. After you have talked with several engineers, pick the most interesting discussion or interview and write a short paper on that individual and how talking with them has impacted you. Prizes will be awarded for the best papers

E-MAP Mentor Project Interview an ENGINEER Engineer’s Name

Engineering Discipline

Job Description

Years in Practice

Most interesting project(s)

Advice to young engineers

What I learned from this engineer:

PROJECT DESIGN 2006 INTEGRATING PROJECT WITH LIVING LABS AND EVENTS