We have previously volunteered at the Discovery Space Museum, which is a local children’s science museum in State College. EWB members served as mentors for the children to teach them about engineering through fun hands-on activities. EWB also made a bike generator project that is one of the exhibits featured in the museum. The bike generator is connected to a series of light bulbs; this teaches children about the amount of work required to power basic objects and the importance of energy conservation. Some of the other activities include milk carton cars, elephant toothpaste, lava lamps, and invisible ink.
EWB has been involved in the Exploration-U event at the Bellefonte High School. This is a family science night where young students and their families can come to the high school to learn from many organizations about science or engineering related topics. EWB members helped run activities for the students in the Bellefonte community to show them how fun and interesting engineering can be. For the spring Exploration-U, EWB had a theme of Physics for Breakfast. Some activities for this theme include exploding colors in milk, rotating eggs, and grape centrifugal challenge.
EWB has also volunteered in several neighboring communities for engineering education and service reasons. Members have volunteered their time to help Nittany Greyhounds, which is a shelter for ex-racing dogs. They have also traveled to several schools, including Bellefonte Elementary School, Benner Elementary School, and Bellefonte Middle School to teach students about the design process through the hands-on Milk Carton Car Challenge. In addition, EWB members have helped with an Art and Science Expo at Ferguson Township Elementary.
From 2011-2016 EWB has worked on numerous projects to help families rebuild after Hurricane Sandy. Several of these trips were in partnership with The American Society of Mechanical Engineers. In total, we sent 39 club members down south to work on rebuilding the Hammond, Louisiana area.
