It is one week until Science of Smart Cities Expo day! The students have been involved with many hands-on and team-based activities to prepare for building and designing their model cities. They are also enjoying field trips around Brooklyn to gain historical and present-day perspectives on urban infrastructure, wireless communications, and transportation. Field trips include visits to the New York Transit Museum and the LEED Silver-certified Barclays Center. On the final day of the Science of Smart Cities program, the students will showcase the model cities that they built and present how their cities incorporate the engineering lessons they learned in the classroom and from their field trips.
Jazzmyne: “Today in class we talked about the rock cycle. I already knew about the rock cycle and the different types of rocks: igneous, sedimentary, and the metamorphic rock. We also did an experiment using Litmus paper. We used the pH scale along with the litmus paper which would allow us to see if the substances we were handling (juice, cola, milk, baking soda, water, and salt water.) We used the litmus paper and some paper turned green, orange, or stayed the same color. That was an interesting experiment. Made me realize the things that are acidic, but don’t seem acidic.”
Thalia: “We learned about the water cycle, and how the water always comes back. We discussed some ways to save that water and one of those ways were to reuse grey water. Grey water is water that is used already, but isn’t contaminated with chemicals. Then we filtered dirty water. It was really cool building a super filter. My filter made the water come out the cleanest.”
Tyler: “Today my class built an awesome tower and see which tower was the strongest. Our group built a square shaped tower. Other groups built towers with different shapes.”
Edmonde: “This has been an amazing day learning about transportation. Today I also went on my frist trip. I went to the Transit Museum. The Museum used to be a train station a long time ago. Because it had lots of tunnels and old trains. we now experience it as a train museum. THATS SO COOL! You can also see buses and the first bus that was made, but it was fake. It looked real though. The trains were real, but I don’t think they are still running. You could also see old train parts from the past.”
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