Two members work on coding by a children's pool containing the experiment.

Engineering + InvenTeam = Happiness

 

Starting off 2018, we came back from winter break with a focused, optimistic mindset. Over winter break we had a short meeting to discuss the progress of the team and our potential improvements. On the 18th, our finance lead, communications lead, and two other members attended the LEAD meeting at the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale. The LEAD meetings are monthly events where representatives from local businesses gather to network. We took advantage of this event by improving our networking skills through engaging conversations with other business men and women. We also heard an engaging speech from Bill Mitchell, a Senior Pastor from the Boca Raton Community Church, about the importance of combining passions with progress to find our gifts in life and accomplish our goals.

We met Mr. Marco, a welding teacher and inventor, who mentored students on Northeast’s 2012 Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam project. We are thankful to have met him and hope to communicate with him throughout the rest of the school year.

On January 24th, our team attended the Northeast High School Magnet Open House. Our Magnet Coordinator and past Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam educator, Mrs. Randa Flinn,  mentioned our InvenTeam in the introduction ceremony,  and we displayed our project at our own table and informed interested parents and potential students about our device. We enjoyed the experience of sharing our invention and future plans with future students and parents at Northeast High School.

 

Team photo at Northeast High School Magnet Open House.

Ended the night with a cheerful group photo!

 

In the fresh month of January, we engaged with our community while stressing our invention. We fundraised during the Debate Tournament by selling concessions. Mrs. Gloria, an Oakland Park Kiwanis Club member, and Mrs. Castro, the mother of our teammate, Marissa, helped us sell at the event. We thank them for dedicating their time! As civilians of Oakland Park, participation in our community is significant to our team.

We have a big announcement to make; the Northeast High School InvenTeam Mid Grant Technical Review will be on February 6th at the Northeast High School media center in Oakland Park, Florida. It will take place from 5:30pm-7:30pm. Thorough information about each individual team and our innovative device will be discussed. Refreshments will be served. An activity will be conducted to engage the audience. Hope to see you there!

 

Northeast High School InvenTeam Mid Grant Technical Review Flyer.

We are THRILLED for the Mid Grant Technical Review, are you?

 

The engineering team continues to have multiple conference meetings with Mr. Fucile, Senior Engineer, of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, about: picaxe coding, properly interfacing solar panels to optimize energy usage, the essentials of using a microcontroller, using an accelerometer, and motor control. Two of our engineering members learned new coding software called Blender! Three members learned Picaxe, one member is proficient with Arduino. Due to further research with object-shape dynamics on water, three structures were 3D printed using Blender, Tinkercad, and 3D Builder. On January 31st, our engineers tested wave motion and motor position with two accelerometers. From the experiments, we concluded that our data was erroneous possibly because of the program or user error. We will attempt this test until we get substantial data.

 

Preparing the accelerometer test. We had a great time. Thank you Mr. Fucile for designing our accelerometer test!

 

 

The finance team ordered multiple items in January. The items were for the engineering team, communications team, and the Mid-Grant Technical Review. Our remaining funds consist of $3,641.51. The finance team is working on creating fundraisers with the communications team and administrative lead to help raise money for our trip to Eurekafest.

The communications team began advertising for the Mid-Grant Technical Review. To get the word out, communications created eye-catching flyers and invitations. Two communications members photographed the Northeast High School Media Center to create a floor layout for the Mid-Grant Technical Review. A representative from Broward Mosquito Control will be attending our Mid-Grant Technical Review. We are thankful to have support from our community and hope for many more supporters!

 

Part of the Northeast High School Media Center

We're using the tops of the bookcases to display our work! The audience will be participating in a walkthrough.

 


Our major countdown to Eurekafest has begun! Eurekafest is 20 weeks away. We are hustling harder than ever before. Communication team’s goal is to improve our social media, record more videos, and finish prepping for our Mid-Grant Technical Review. Finance team’s goal is to get fundraisers to create spending reports. Engineering team’s goal is for all members to attempt the Solidworks certification. Our team’s overall goal is to improve our public speaking by presenting frequently. We look forward to our Mid-Grant Technical Review and receiving feedback from the community and professionals in the field.

 


Two engineering members smiling alongside the experiment.

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