ENGage LSU Shows 6-8th Graders What Engineering is All About

Each spring break, a large group of LSU Engineering faculty, graduate students and Society of Peer Mentors members help lead ENGage LSU, a one-day workshop open to local middle-schoolers who want to learn what it is to be an engineer. Hosted by LSU’s College of Engineering, ENGage LSU is a full day of hands-on activities and engineering demonstrations in Patrick F. Taylor Hall for sixth through eighth graders.

ENGage LSU was started in 2017 by the college’s Director of Student Leadership & Engagement Adrienne Steele and former LSU Chemical Engineering Professor Adam Melvin. Since its inception, ENGage LSU has seen 1,636 students from various schools across South Louisiana.

“This event was created to target middle school students because education research shows that engaging middle school students in STEM activities increases their chances of choosing STEM-related disciplines when entering college,” Steele said. “Through survey data, we’ve learned that nearly half of students who participate both increase their interest in engineering and their confidence in becoming an engineer in the future, and nearly two-thirds of students increase their knowledge of what engineers do.”

This year, ENGage LSU saw nearly 150 students from Woodlawn Middle, Brusly Middle, Scotlandville Middle, and University Lab. LSU College of Engineering Dean Vicki Colvin welcomed the students before their day got started and asked them all to give a round of applause to their teachers.  

“I want to thank the teachers because when I was in sixth grade, I had a science teacher who did hands-on demonstrations with the class, and it’s because of him that I became interested in science and engineering,” she said. “Having those experiences is so important. I want to thank the teachers here for what they do because one teacher can influence thousands of students.”

The students then spent their day rotating through five different demonstrations and hands-on activities that included using computers to design polymers, construction robots and telerobots from disaster zones to outer space, drinking water treatment, engineering DNA for new functions, seeing cancers in surgery with invisible light, and many more.

LSU Society of Peer Mentors member and Industrial Engineering senior Marie Stewart has been helping with ENGage LSU for the past two years and served as a group leader, leading the groups to the different demonstrations.

“This year, my group had the opportunity to see and interact with several branches of engineering,” Stewart said.

In Agricultural and Biomedical, Stewart’s group of students tested grip strength and static jump height and learned about joint movement. In Petroleum, they explored molecules and ground-survey density readings using augmented reality headsets. Students learned about power generation and motors in Electrical, and in Chemical, they learned about molecular structures and shapes and tested a chemical reaction that tells scientists what type of starch they’re working with.

“I like volunteering with ENGage because I can interact with younger students and, hopefully, foster a love of learning and engineering in them,” Stewart said. “Children are the future, and I am grateful for the chance to help guide them.”  

“I like volunteering with ENGage because I can interact with younger students and, hopefully, foster a love of learning and engineering in them.”

Marie Stewart, LSU Society of Peer Mentors member and Industrial Engineering senior

Jessica Wagner, the Student Support Coordinator for the Chevron Center for Engineering Education in Patrick F. Taylor Hall, was in charge of this year’s ENGage LSU and is incredibly proud of what the program has achieved this year.

“We had 18 faculty and 45 graduate students running the demo activities, along with 20 SPM volunteers, making this event a success for our student guests,” she said.

Before high-fiving the sixth and eighth graders on her way out, Colvin emphasized two things that the students should know about science and engineering.

“First off, it’s fun, and two, you’re building things, solving problems, and changing the world,” she said. “It’s not just fun problems, but problems with solutions that will help people live better. This is what engineers, computer scientists, and construction managers do. So, if you like to solve problems, change the world and make it better, these are careers you should really think about.”