IEEE Students Help American Heritage Girls with Engineering Projects

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Ethan Williams helps Hannah Saunders and Alexis Crosby build an electromagnet.

On Saturday, March 7, the student members of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers hosted a troop of nine American Heritage Girls from Elkins. The troop of 8- to 15-year-olds was completing an engineering badge by working on mechanical and electrical engineering projects.

The girls worked with the students on seven different projects in one of the electrical engineering labs in the Bell Engineering Center. They built aluminum foil boats and electromagnets, took apart an automated bubble blower to look at the batteries and gears, learned about torsion and tension using Twizzlers, built bridges with paper as well as gumdrops and toothpicks, and created a structure that would safely catch a falling egg.

Ethan Williams, president of the IEEE student chapter, helped with the electromagnet and the bubble blower demonstrations. "I really loved the whole concept of the day," he said. "It was exciting to see that the girls were willing to learn, and I was amazed at how smart they were. One of them could keep up with me when I was talking about electric and magnetic fields and magnetic dipols."

Williams explained why the IEEE students hosted the troop. "The goal is to spark interest in engineering so kids can at least appreciate and understand it, but ultimately, we want them to become engineers," he said. "Specifically, there's a lack of girls in engineering. Being able to reach out to these girls was a big step for us."

Coming into college, Williams knew he wanted to be involved in extracurricular activities, and IEEE was one of the main student organizations for electrical engineering. "It's been an amazing opportunity," he said. "I've been able to network and get students involved, and we've helped each other work towards the end goal of getting a job in electrical engineering."