ALLENTOWN — Robert Tackett, who teaches science and engineering at Allentown High School, will have his students in Project Lead the Way participate in the Panasonic Creative Design Challenge for the first time.
Seniors Andrew Fortier, Vincent Ferriola and Hunter Sherry reached the preliminary round of the challenge at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), Newark, on Feb. 11. They are waiting to hear if they will advance beyond that level.
“Our team performed admirably,” Tackett said. “They had one of the more unique and elaborate designs at the competition.”
The Panasonic Creative Design Challenge is a collaborative effort between Panasonic and NJIT. It began in 1991 with a goal to provide students with an opportunity to design solutions to a specific problem, according to Tackett.
About 50 schools are competing in 2015.
As part of the challenge this year, there was a simulated earthquake zone that included fires and people who were injured. Students were challenged to design a remotely operated vehicle that could be used to rescue the injured individuals and extinguish the fires.
“This is all done on a small scale using an 8-foot-by-8-foot constructed course,” Tackett said. “Over the past few years, I have been looking for ways to expand the opportunities our students have to engage in science and engineering in a fun and meaningful way.”
He said now that there is a pre-engineering program at the high school, “it just makes sense to participate in these challenges with our students.”
Tackett said he wanted to get his students involved in the challenge for several reasons. There is a $5,000 scholarship award for the winning team, per student.
“There are several prizes for non-first place finishes, too, but really, the main push for participating in the competition is to give our students a fun and meaningful opportunity to do science and engineering,” he said. “We have so many bright, talented students in our school who enjoy learning by doing, and activities like this are a great way to capture their desire.
“The students are very excited. It is not an easy competition. It creates a competitive environment where kids can use their talents to design unique solutions to challenges. … Kids like to solve problems, so my job is to create an environment where they are empowered to make important decisions and choices.
“If you think about it, teenagers think they know everything, so giving them an opportunity where they can practice that which they are so certain of is very liberating for them. I say that tongue-in-cheek, but at its core, it really is the truth.”
Tackett said the students had been preparing for the challenge since November, both in class and at home.
There are important lessons to impart to students through the competition, he said.
“Probably the most important lesson is stick-to-it-ness,” Tackett said. “It is very difficult to stay with a long-term project, but in the world of science and engineering, we must have patience and perseverance to discover and create great things.”
The teacher said he plans to get his students involved in the challenge next year.
“We should become an annual competitor and get better with each year of participation,” he said.