| Outcome/Accomplishment:
Inspired by creating new hydraulic sources, scientists and educators
at Purdue University, a partner institution of the NSF-funded Engineering
Research Center (ERC) for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power (CCEFP), have
developed an educational kit that provides curriculum, lessons, and activities
on hydraulics for students in grades 8-12. The highlight of the kit
is a working mini-excavator model that students and their teachers can
build and operate using water hydraulics or pneumatics.
Impact/Benefit:
Exposing K-12 students to hands-on science and engineering activities is
key to creating a technically savvy workforce of the future. The
mini-excavator kit engages students in fun, low-cost activities that allow
them to learn about engineering principles while seeing first-hand how
fluid power technology works.
Explanation/Background:
Three years in development, the kit itself includes a case, water pump,
necessary power supplies, hardware (nuts, bolts, etc.), cylinders, valves,
tubing, fittings, and excavator arm—off-the-shelf components like those
used in many industrial applications. Assembly is straightforward,
since only common shop tools—wrenches, screwdrivers, hacksaw, and drill—are
needed. And because the mini-excavator operates either with tap water
and outlet power or with an air compressor, the kit is portable and can
be used in schools, at science fairs, in museums, and at other outreach
events. Topics, lesson plans, handouts, and experiments in the accompanying
curriculum are designed to accommodate middle and high school classes.
Students can learn about
simple concepts like velocity-flow and pressure-force relations, or they
can be introduced to more complex concepts such as robotics or the use
of microcontrollers and programming. Engineering faculty, undergraduate
and graduate students of the CCEFP, and classroom teachers contributed
to the design, construction, and delivery of the kit, and teachers have
ensured that the curriculum matches Indiana’s education standards and outcomes.
This project is replicable, too. Product lists, assembly directions.
and the curriculum are posted at www.ccefp.org.
Now it's the students' turn, and as their positive responses attest, this
inexpensive working mini-excavator, together with the lessons and hands-on
activities inspired by fluid power technology, delivers highly successful
learning outcomes. |
