| Spotlight on Lewis and Clark Community College HECA Innovation Project | |
During the week of September 15-19, 2008, Lewis and Clark Community College (L&C), in collaboration with East Alton Wood River High School and Roxana High School, sponsored a hovercraft competition between teams of the two high schools. This event was a reprise of the 2008 Summer Career Academy, a project supported by an IBHE Higher Education Cooperation Act (HECA) Innovation grant. In the Summer Career Academy, L&C partnered with four high schools in its district and with Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville's School of Engineering to carry out a project called, "Supporting Regional Manufacturing Needs through Career Academies." The summer project involved hands-on activities in science and engineering, field trips, visits by representatives of various engineering and technology fields, and student competitions on science/technology activities. The culminating event was the hovercraft competition, which was attended by over 65 students from each of the two high schools, all of whom were part of 4-5 member teams. Each team had built a hovercraft over the previous week. Also in attendance were the L&C project leaders, the Dean of Math, Science & Technology, the Vice President of Academic Affairs, the President of L&C along with the two high school principals, and Rich Jachino IBHE grant administrator. The hovercraft building began on Monday of that week with the raw materials of two-by-four foot pieces of plywood, pool liners (high gauge pliable rubber), staples, hardware, and tape. With the assistance of the project leaders who operated the band saw and other equipment, students fabricated their own designs in preparation for the subsequent competition. Each hovercraft was air-powered by battered-powered leaf blowers (the pool-liner materials were modified to contain small slits for the passage of air to float the devices). On September 19 all the teams participated in the competition, which was arranged in the form of a bowling tournament-one student mounted the hovercraft and another student pushed the rider in an attempt to knock over ten bowling pins. In a demonstration of exemplary sportsmanship, each high school principal did several trips down the "alley" on the hovercraft. Participation, excitement, and a healthy sense of school rivalry were all apparent as science, technology, lessons about overcoming friction, and a genuine student engagement were all the winners. Note: Click on the image to enlarge. |
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| Lewis and Clark Community College HECA Innovation Project Participants | |
High School: Roxana High School
Pictured are: (front row, left to right) Winning team members, Misty Lilly, Jacob Lawrence, Tabitha Murphy, Cody Smith (middle row, left to right) Kevin Bodden, HECA Project Coordinator & Associate Professor of Math at Lewis & Clark, Micheal Hass, Roxana HS team member, Kathy Wittich, Science teacher, Roxana HS (back row, left to right) Rick Levek, Principal, Roxana HS, Adam Tournier, Assistant Professor of Physics at Lewis & Clark, Derek Hacke, Principal, East Alton Wood River HS, Alek Karenko, winning team member, Julia Jeffreys, Physics teacher, Roxana HS |
High School: East Alton Wood River High School
Pictured are: (front row, left to right) Winning team members, Anna Wright, Matt Goldman, Kelsey Westbrook, Joe Baker |
High School: Roxana High School
Pictured: Drew Brumley |
High School: East Alton Wood River High School
Pictured: Anna Wright |
