News

The 7th grade computer science class made waves (literally—in the fountain on Ayrshire Court) last week to test the designs of their 3D-printed boats, an annual project that teaches students about the engineering design process (ask, research, imagine, plan, create, test, and improve!).

Middle School Computer Science Teacher Val Brownsmith’s class learned to use a CAD (computer-aided design) program often used in professional industries to design their boats. They worked in teams in the STEAMWork Studio to bring their designs to three-dimensional life, and went through a testing phase with their prototypes, recording any issues with balance or buoyancy. They then revised their designs in accordance with their observations and tested their final boats in the fountain.

“We redesigned our boat to have more surface area on the bottom,” said Mila de M.v.O. ’28. “It was unbalanced the first time, so we tried giving it a bigger platform and space to add weight to the bottom.”