PolyToday: Within reach

One hundred budding engineers spent Sunday afternoon on the Lower School campus tackling a challenge: to build a mechanical arm to pick up a cup several feet away and then set it down without knocking it over. Lower School students were supplied materials, and only those materials were used to complete the projects. The purpose of the Engineering Contest is to encourage interest in engineering and to help develop skills in critical thinking, the design/build cycle, and problem-solving. The Engineering Contest reflects the "E" of STEM initiatives that aim to include engineering in the curriculum for 21st-century education.