Out pop computers, science experiments and engineering alumni and students, all geared to get children excited about science. The van will visit nine Washoe County schools before the end of the academic year. As it drives away, it leaves behind such explanations as how an earthquake creates sinkholes, how an airplane's fins reduce air friction and how a bridge's suspension works.
Students learn the concepts in class.
The lab's computers can instantly analyze student-collected data and can provide PowerPoint presentations on screens in conjunction with experiments. The rolling lab also aims to attract students to the field of engineering. Our nation's economy depends on engineers to design everything from fax machines to satellites, Lane said. But the United States will be in short supply of engineers as early as three years from now, she said. Besides planning bridges and roads, engineers also solve environmental problems and fight disease by designing ultrasound machines and other medical instruments.