North Coast Engineering Academies is part of a California State University-wide effort to encourage the teaching of more engineering concepts in the North Coast’s K-12 schools, with a focus on high schools. The partnership includes HSU faculty in Environmental Resources Engineering, engineers from local consulting firms and public agencies as well as local teachers from Hoopa High, Fortuna High, McKinleyville High, South Fork High, Zoe Barnum, Zane, Toddy Thomas and Hoopa Elementary.
Teachers attending the first Design Your Future Teaching Institute studied the engineering design process by designing and constructing simple machine displays to convey physics principles to children visiting the Discovery Museum, directed by Jennifer Taylor.
In conjunction with North Coast Engineering Academies, Hoopa High School will offer the Humboldt State University course ENGR 215, Introduction to Design, for college credit this fall semester. Hoopa High School students will receive ENGR 215 course content online and complete course work at their Hoopa campus. This model is also used at CSU Sacramento and CSU Northridge. Fortuna High School plans to offer a similar course in Fall, 2009.
This co-curricular class is one way North Coast Engineering Academies is encouraging high school students to study the field. In addition, the academies will foster partnerships between engineers and K-12 teachers. From these partnerships, teachers will have more external support to teach engineering concepts.
The public is invited to the Discovery Museum unveiling on the corner of 3rd and F Streets in Eureka. Information about the Design Your Future Teaching Institute and the North Coast Engineering Academies is at http://www.humboldt.edu/~dyf and from HSU Professor Dr. Beth Eschenbach, Ph.D. at Beth.Eschenbach@humboldt.edu.