Pottstown Middle School students who are members of Mr. Andy Bachman's MontCo 360 STEM education program Have a new twist to the challenge of building a better mousetrap. Their mission was to design, engineer and build a vehicle that incorporated the use of a conventional mousetrap. The competition included being judged on the vehicles, speed and distance along with having to make an engineering presentation that explained the reasoning behind the design and construction of the vehicle, to a panel of judges.
The judging panel consisted of PHS graduates who are presently attending college and are majoring in mechanical engineering Gina Fleming - 2024, Lehigh University Engineering
Austin Sundstrom - 2024, Lehigh University, Mechanical Engineering
Abdel Elgendy - 2023, Ursinus / Columbia, Mechanical Engineering
Mark Ellison III - 2023, Ursinus/Columbia, Mechanical Engineering . They were joined by guest judge Mr. Bachman‘s son Ryan, who is presently attending Shippensburg University majoring in math and science education.
Pottstown Middle School gymnasium served as the site of the competition where each participant had to demonstrate the road worthiness of their vehicle and have speed and distance calculated. Making their presentation to the judges that challenged and questioned their process enabled students to gain valuable insight into the engineering process.
Mr. Bachman said I appreciate our partnership with Montgomery County Community College, which has provided us with a number of opportunities to create meaningful educational experiences and challenges for our students that will open up new areas of understanding and create a foundation for future success in the real life workplace.
Place winners were;
Speed:
1- Eric Clay, 2 - Aiden Ondik, 3- Alaina Ploysy
Distance:
1 - Grace Eby, 2- Clara Johnson, 3 - Thomas Rose
Engineering Presentation:
1- Alaina Ploysy, 2- Aiden Ondik, 3- Rania Air Lqol
Judges Favorite:
Thomas Rose