Philadelphia Engineer Coaches Intermediate Students for Engineering Day

This past winter, Jim Martin, P.E., vice president and engineering director in our Transportation & Infrastructure Division in Philadelphia, took part in the Engineering Day 2020 event at the Pennsauken Intermediate School in Pennsauken, NJ. The event invited guest engineers to visit fourth and fifth grade classrooms and coach teams of students as they participated in their own engineering challenges.

Jim worked with a team of fifth graders as they tackled the challenge of constructing a vehicle out of just four Lifesavers candies, a straw, a single piece of tape, and a piece of paper. To propel the vehicle forward, teams blew on their vehicle to send it as far as it would go.

The visit also included an engineering-based question and answers session.

“I enjoyed watching them test their creations,” Jim said. “I also enjoyed the questions they asked me during the Q&A session. One question was how an engineer can help address rising greenhouse emissions. I was proud to discuss how STV develops and promotes electric vehicles and mass transportation that drastically cuts emissions.”