Engineers visit Queen of the Rosary School

Engineers from Northrup Grumman's education outreach program, Discover Northrup Grumman, visited Queen of the Rosary Thursday, March 10, treating seventh- and eighth-grade students to an experience aimed at promoting interest in engineering.

Engineers and recent college graduates Kevin Cascino, Evan Klepitsch, and David Lee spoke with students about what engineers do, what types of engineers there are, and how many engineers it takes to create a can of pop (nine).

The informal presentation at the Elk Grove school gave students the opportunity to ask questions and participate in a hands-on bridge building project using toothpicks and gumdrops.

Students were divided into teams and tasked to build a bridge that would fill about four inches of space between tables and support the most mass. Cost was a consideration, and each toothpick and gumdrop was assigned a numerical value.

The building phase was noisy but productive, as many bridges proved worthy of supporting large amounts of mass. The winning team received candy and bragging rights for the rest of the afternoon.

For information on Queen of the Rosary School and its programs, contact the principal at (847) 437-3322 or visit www.qrschool.org.

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