Feb. 18, 2008 - MIDDLETOWN, Pa. – How do wings lift an airplane? Sixth-grade students from Middletown Area Middle School will find out the answer to this and other questions this week when they visit Phoenix Contact, 586 Fulling Mill Road, Middletown. As part of the company’s National Engineers Week activities, Phoenix Contact engineers will lead the students in a series of hands-on experiments that reinforce the science and math learned in the classroom. Programs will run between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., Tuesday, Feb. 19 through Friday, Feb. 22.
What: Phoenix Contact engineers and Middletown Area Middle School sixth-grade students will participate in several interactive experiments. Phoenix Contact is a world leader in electrical connection, electronic interface and automation technologies with U.S. headquarters in Middletown.
When: Tuesday, Feb. 19, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 20, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Thursday, Feb. 21, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Friday, Feb. 22, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Scott Faulkner, Mechanical Engineering Supervisor, will talk with the students about how his interest in science led to an engineering career. The students will then rotate through a series of engineering experiments. In the experiments, the students will learn:
How a wing lifts an airplane
How a light wind can collapse an auto bridge
How to build an electric motor
How to control the speed of a spinning object simply by shifting its weight
How to use gravity to prevent objects from falling to the ground
“Phoenix Contact’s 85 years of success are built upon the innovative designs of our engineering staff,” said Jack Nehlig, president of Phoenix Contact USA. “Today fewer young people are entering engineering and other science-related fields, but science and math are crucial to the success of our society and economy. Our employees want to share their love of science and math with these students by taking their lessons beyond the classroom. These experiments show that math and science have fun and practical applications in our everyday world.”
National Engineers Week (February 17 through 23) was established in 1951 to promote engineering and technology careers to young students and to honor engineers’ contributions to society. Other Engineers Week activities at Phoenix Contact include an educational lunch-and-learn for non-engineer employees, and dinners in Middletown and Ann Arbor, Mi., to honor the 58 practicing engineers who work for the company.
Committee members who organized the Engineers Week activities are Faulkner, Missy Sommer, Brian Linton and Patty Marrero. Engineers contributing to the experiments are Mike Correll, Mike Lacey, Arnold Offner, Nathan Kruis, Chris Kramm, and Aaron Kreider
Phoenix Contact is a world leader in electrical connection, electronic interface and industrial automation technologies. A global company with annual sales exceeding 1 billion euro, Phoenix Contact GmbH & Co., Blomberg, Germany, operates 46 international subsidiaries, including Phoenix Contact USA in Middletown, Pa. Phoenix Contact's formal Integrated Management System is certified to ISO quality, environmental and safety standards (ISO 9001:2000, 14001:2004 and 19001:1999).
