Students climb an offshore wind turbine using VR

Discovery Days at Franklin Cummings Tech

March 29, 2024

Franklin Cummings Tech welcomed more than 200 high school students to our Boston campus in March for two fun and interactive Discovery Days, one focused on Engineering and the other on Clean Energy/Electric Vehicle Technology.

Discovery Days are special events that give prospective students a taste of our majors and the pathways into a variety of high-demand STEM careers. Each event is three hours long and includes hands-on activities related to one of our academic programs, engaging campus tours, free lunch, and prizes.

During Engineering Day, students:

Learned about mechatronics by taking control of Frank, the college’s Quadruped Robot, and viewing some industrial robotic arms in action
Explored CAD programming and 3D printing related to manufacturing and automation
Gained an understanding of electricity generation
Checked out projects created by two of our Electrical Engineering students: a remote fire notification and suppression app; and a plant monitoring system that automatically boosts light or water supplies based on your plant’s needs (including an increasingly urgent voice warning if your plant gets critically dry!)

During Clean Energy/Electric Vehicles Day, students:

Used VR goggles to explore what it’s like to work as a technician on an offshore wind turbine installation
Checked out solar-powered toy cars and took turns bending metal conduits used to contain the wiring used by solar panel installers
Built their own table-top wind turbines and tested which blade configurations generated the most electric power
Learned how to measure voltage and stay safe when working on electric cars
Got an overview of the building energy management technology used to monitor and regulate power usage within today’s smart residential and commercial buildings