Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY

Today was the final day of Q-Terms here at The Storm King School and students in Dr. Paul Feffer’s Engineering Design course have a lot to show for it. After two weeks of intensive learning on and off campus, the students completed several team challenges. “Who can design a better candy bag?” and “Can you estimate how long would it take to walk from here to San Francisco?” were only some of the questions teams had to answer.

“I created the Q-Term based on a college engineering course I once taught,” said Dr. Feffer. I mixed the basics of that class with a lot of hands-on projects. Many of the project ideas came from a seminar given by the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). I’ve been collecting ideas for almost a year,” he said.

According to freshman Emanual Davis, “The class was really fun. There was never a dull moment.” If the students weren’t answering questions, they were busy completing design challenges. For example, after walking across the Bear Mountain Bridge, a historic suspension bridge across the Hudson River, teams were tasked with creating the most solid bridge design. Another excursion to the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome gave them a first-hand look at WWII era propellers as they made their own flying machines.  They also discovered the best design for dead fall traps on today’s excursion to Black Rock Forest.

By the end of the Term, the students made model bridges, pingpong  launchers, wind turbines, cars propelled with mouse traps, robot arms, and flying machines. Most of the teams completed several challenges over the course of two weeks. In true Dr. Feffer fashion, all the projects began with an objective, but had some constraints. “Students were given unlimited materials, such as wooden dowels, rubber bands, clothespins and tape. Then, during the design process, they had to work together to figure out the best solution,” he said. Sophomore Madison Foster was very proud of her projects and her partner. “Me and my partner Rachel made a bridge, a mechanical arm and a flying machine. It was really fun,” she said.

The Engineering Design Q-Term is designed to provide students with an introduction to the principles and practices of engineering, and to give them an overview of the role of engineering throughout human history, and as a profession.

Visit the Academics pages of our website to find out more about Q-Terms and other Signature Courses offered at The Storm King School.