TOWAMENCIN- Despite North Penn being one of the few high schools with an in-depth, hands-on engineering curriculum, what happens in H-Pod remains a mystery for most people. On Tuesday, May 30th, members of North Penn’s Engineering Design and Development course, along with the North Penn NASA research team, were able to share what they have been working on since September to the community at the 12th Annual North Penn High School Engineering Academy Nanotechnology and Engineering Symposium.

Mr. Michael Boyer has been teaching EDD for 12 years and is a crucial part of the presentation every year.

The night started off in the audion. Boyer gave an introduction and gave the audience a quick summary of the North Penn Engineering Academy and then the presentations began. Each team was given the opportunity to show their friends and family what they have learned and accomplished this school year.

“It’s amazing,” said Wendy Moed, a mother of one of the students. “I listen to my son talking about his project, and it doesn’t really make sense to me. But when I can actually see it, it makes more sense. What these kids have been working on is truly amazing.”

After the presentations, guests were then ushered to the auxiliary gym. Once inside, guests were able to walk around and see the exhibits that each team set up. An Angstrom Scientific representative was also there to display the Hitachi TM3030 Scanning Electron Microscope.  At the exhibits, the students demonstrated and further explained their projects. Some displays were even interactive. EVRt (Educational Virtual Reality Technologies), composed of Harris Levine, Bryan Moed, and Julia Santos, had their Virtual Reality system set up and allowed visitors to try it out.

“As someone who knows very little about engineering, this experience is very beneficial. It gets the word out on this program. It also shows how in depth our engineering program is here and how much these students really know. And to be able to learn from them and see what they did is an awesome experience,” said senior Zach McHoul.

Guests were not the only ones to benefit from the exhibits.

“The opportunity to present our projects, the last part of the engineering process, is huge,” explained Jake Yoder, a member of Innovo, along with James Drinkwater and Nick Crisler. “As high school students, not only are we able to create and work through our own project, but we are also able to present our findings, which is a skill that all of us will use in the future.”

“We can do all of this work, but it doesn’t mean anything unless people see it and understand it how it can impact their lives, which is why this night is so important,” said Julia Santos, a member of eVRt.

For more information about North Penn’s Engineering Academy, visit http://www.thefutureisnear.org/index.html

Check out NPTV’s coverage on the 12th Annual North Penn High School Engineering Academy Nanotechnology and Engineering Symposium: