Welcome to Our Web Page
What Is Girls R.I.S.E.?
Girls R.I.S.E. (Raising Interest in Science and Engineering) is a two year long program at the Miami Museum Of Science. It is sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The program is designed for girls who are interested in science and engineering. In the program a variety of things occur. The girls learn about engineering, hands-on activities, computer skills, and most of all teamwork. The participants experience meeting different types of female engineers and their workplace. They may be exposed to the different careers engineering has to offer. The participants also learn about circuits. During the program there are teams. The teams develop products such as engineers do. Each team will work on the same product but it is up to each team to figure out the best method. This is a great way to experience teamwork and competition. There are mainly two projects that we develop: an electric car and a line tracker. At the end of the program, 24 students receive a $400.00 stipend.
What we do at Girls R.I.S.E.
At the Girls R.I.S.E. program, we do a lot of different activities. Some of the activities we do are:
1. Build electric currents - We build electric currents such as traffic lights and create parallel and series connections.
2. Design web pages - We design and create our own personal web pages filled with information about us and pictures we have. Not only do we do personal web pages, we do team web pages (like this one) with things about the team, links to our personal web pages, and a link to our photo gallery. Our photo gallery is it's own page itself. It consists of pictures of the team, and a short description of the picture. You can get to delta's photo gallery by going to the "Photo Gallery" heading, and clicking on the earth.
3. Go on educational field trips - We have gone on at least
2 or 3 field trips. Some include a field trip to Cordis, which is a Johnson
& Johnson sponsored company that designs and creates heart catheters.
Another was a trip to the University Of Miami. There we explored
different types of engineering fields. Of all of the trips, our team agrees
the last trip was the best. We went to Epcot center and rode educational
rides and visited different types of "countries".
What our team thinks of Girls R.I.S.E.
Shantavia - "I think it is a good educational program if you are interested in science. I like the Epcot trip the best because it was fun getting on rides dealing with science!"
Jennifer - "I think this is an excellent program for all girls who are interested in any field of science and/or math. I also liked the Epcot trip the best because we learned a lot and got to go on rides, see many things, and go on rides!"
Shari - "I like the program because it is very interesting and exciting. The Epcot trip was my favorite because it was very, um, um, excellent!!"
Edna - "I like Girls R.I.S.E. because you get to do hands-on activities, computer applications, and speak to professional engineers. My favorite trip we took here at Girls R.I.S.E. was the EPCOT trip because it was very fun and I got to see different State Of The Art appliances. I also got to see many different countries!"
Gaby - "I think this is a very interesting, creative program that has given me the opportunity to work with girls and find out from my own experience how intelligent and wonderful girls can be at this age. I think Cordis was the best trip because I learn how they make heart catheters."
What Is Delta?
Delta is the Greek alphabetical symbol for the letter "D", as well as our team name. At Girls R.I.S.E., we split up into 4 teams that compete and do separate activities. There is the Alpha, Beta, Psi, and the Delta team. As we said, we are the Delta team.
We'd Like To Introduce Ourselves!
Hi. We are four girls in the Girls R.I.S.E. program. Our names are:
If you would care to know more about a certain one of us, just click on the name.
Photo Gallery
Team Roles
Each team member had a specific role which they had to fulfill. Over a period of time the roles of each team member were broaden so that we could finish more work. The team roles person are as follows:
Project Engineer: Edna Bonhomme
The Project Engineer (P.E.) is in charge of all the team's operations. This means that the Project Engineer conducts the activities. The P.E. is also responsible for checking the assignments, asking questions of the teacher, leading the team discussions about both processes and results. The P.E. is also in charge of group safety. She reads the activity cards and observes the progress and safety of the team.
Developmental Engineer:
Jennifer Messina
The Developmental Engineer (D.E.) is in charge of designing and building the models used in the completion of the project. She can design tasks and model construction tasks to other team members. After a model is designed, the D.E. is responsible for developing a list of materials for constructing the mode. In cooperation with the Facilities Engineer, the D.E. collects the materials for the models and supervises the construction process.
Shantavia Williams-Test
Engineer
The (T.E.) is in charge of getting and writing data needed during each activity. The T.E. is responsible for writing information on the team worksheet, data table, or graph. The T.E. , with the P.E., is responsible for checking the accuracy of the data written on the forms. The T.E. is also responsible for reporting the team's results to the class and to the judges for the final competition. This report will be both oral and written. The T.E. is also responsible for presenting any team comments on the activity.
Shari Maultsby-Facilities Engineer
The Facilities Engineer (F.E.) is the charge of all the equipment and materials. The F.E. is responsible for collecting, storing, maintaining, and passing out all materials and equipment for the project. The F.E. is also in charge of all cleanup and maitnence tasks during and after the activity. In completing this task, the F.E. can move around the classroom to collect and return equipment and materials. She can also assign cleanup and maitnence to other team members.
Mentor-Gaby Penaloza
The Mentor guides the girls in her team, and helps them when they need it most. She also gives them things to do, asks them important questions, passes out things she had kept, and "controls" how the girls act.
E-Mail
Hi. Our group name as you know is delta, Girls With Momentum. As you may know, doing projects may always result in asking questions, so to help us with the questions, we e-mailed different companies and are waiting for their answers. If you would like to e-mail us, you our e-mail address is: delta@miamisci.org Send us e-mail!!
Team Projects
Electric Car
Introduction
The electric car is a car that runs on electricity. It is a car that runs by a simple motor. The source of power for this motor are two AA batteries. Building an electric car is a process that takes time and patience. While building this car we've had many experiences. But no matter what, we stuck with our project .
Problem Statement
To build an electric car that moves up an inclined plane carrying 12 oz.
Purpose
To see whether or not the electric car can go through a series of test and past. These test include having speed, going up an inclined plane of 20 degrees, and carrying 12 ounces.
Hypothesis
We think we will build an appropriate car.
Materials
1 small d.c. motor
11-hole conduit strap, type 3/4 TW
1 punched aluminum chassis
1 battery holder for AA battery, leads attached
1 piece of double-sided foam tape, for gluing the battery holder to the chassis
4 polyethylene wheels
1 pinion,16 teeth,0.070-inch bore
1 gear, 60 teeth, 0.110-inch bore
1 Battery
2 axles,3mm in diameter, 3-3/4"long
1 axle, 3mm in diameter, 2-3/4"long
14-40 wing nut
14-40 1/2 inch machine screw
20 #4 washers
1 hammer
Procedure
1. First, we gathered the materials and made an inventory.
2. Soon after, we put the axles through the chassis.
3. Then, we began putting the washers on the axles.
4. In addition to, we began placing the gears and wheels on the axles.
5. Next, we located the motor and screwed it on the chassis. with the screw and the nut.
6. After getting the motor situated, we had to put the battery holders on the chassis.
7. Soon after, we put the batteries in the battery holder.
8. In addition to, we soldered the wires in series.
9. When that was done we tested the car.
10. After it pasted the series of tests we built a frame for it.
Data
1.The motor has to make 6 1/2 turns for each turn of the wheels.
2.We noticed that if you reverse a connection to the battery, the car will go backwards.
Test
Run 1: 4 meters 5 seconds
Run 2: 16 meters, 9 seconds including the inclined plane
Observations
Problems:
1. Red wheel was too wobbly.
2. Blue wheel was too wobbly.
3. Wires come off.
4. Switch drags.
5. Does not roll fast enough.
6. Car curves.
Solutions:
1. Replace red wheel.
2. Replace blue wheel.
3. Put tape over wires.
4. Tape the switch.
5. Put on grease.
6. Check wheels.
Conclusion
In conclusion we built a successful car that pasted the tests we set for it. So our hypothesis was correct.
Line Tracker
Introduction
The line tracker is a robot that follows a black line drawn on the white paper. The photo interrupter is the eyes of the line tracker. It projects and receives infrared rays. While black absorbs rays white reflects them, so the line tracker distinguishes black and white by projecting and receiving infrared rays.
Problem Statement
To follow the directions set for us by the line tracker's instruction's.
Purpose
The purpose of this project is to see if the line tracker is able to perform the task set for it. This task includes tracking a path on a smooth surface. The path set for the line tracker will have lines and curves. The color of the lines and curves are black. The background is white. It must travel the path without going out of it's place.
Hypothesis
Our educational guess is that we will follow the instructions set by the manual.
Materials
1 Diagonal Cutter
1 Long Nose Plier
2 Screwdrivers
1 Penknife
1 Hammer
2 AA batteries
1 9 volt battery
1 Slide Switch (Assembled)
1 9 volt Battery Snap
1 PC Board (Assembled)
4 Connector Motor Wires
1 AA battery Holder
1 Sensor PCB (Assembled)
1 Body Set
1 Dome Set
1 Wheel Set
1 Tire Set
6 Flat Spur Gear (40) with Boss
4 Flat Spur Gear (36) with Pinion
2 Pinion Gear (8) (Small)
2 Pinion Gear (12) (Large)
2 M2 6x4 Screw (Black)
2 Flat Spur Gear (24) with Pinion (Small)
2 Flat Spur Gear (40) with Pinion (Large)
6 M3x10 Screws
4 M3x35 Screws
1 Grease
1 Wrench
8 M3 Nuts
4 M3 Nylon Nuts
3 M2 6x8 Tapping Screws
4 3x15 Spacers
10 3.2 Washers
2 Metal Shafts
2 Screw Shafts
2 Motors
1 Soldering Iron
60-40 Rosin Core Solder
14 Resistors
4 Transistors
1 Potentiometer
1 Electrolytic Capacitor
1 IC
2 Photo Interrupters
6 Wires
Procedure
Mechanical Assembly
1. Attach pinion gear to motor (make two sets).
2. Install motor into holder (make two sets).
3. Insert the metal shafts and nuts.
4. Assemble the front wheel (make two sets).
5. Assemble right side panel.
6. Assemble left side panel.
7. Attach the side panel to the body panel.
Assembly of the Sensor Unit
8. Assemble right and left side of sensor pipe, then secure them with pipe stoppers.
9. Insert wires from sensor board through dome stopper and sensor pipe.
10. Install sensor dome.
11. Insert the completed sensor unit into the front dome, then secure it with a pipe stopper.
Mechanical Assembly
12. Attach the rear dome to the side panels and install the PC Board.
13. Connect the wires from the sensor unit to the PC Board unit, then attach the front dome.
14. Install the battery holders to both sides of the panel.
15. Attach the motor holder to the side panels, castor and battery cover, and wires to the motors.
Results
During the procedure we encountered an amount of problems. Each problem made us exasperated but at the end we managed to work things out. Below there is a list of problems that we faced. After the problems we listed the methods we used to solve them.
1. Problem - The gears were falling off. Solution - We read the instructions and figured out what we were doing wrong.
2. Problem - The gears weren't turning with the wheel. Solution - We tightened some nuts.
3. Problem - The gears fell off again. Solution - We used some "extra" nuts to hold them on.
4. Problem - We then realized we needed more nuts. Solution - We started over, piece by piece.
5. Problem - There were missing pieces. Solution - We looked high and low for them!!
6. Problem - Line Tracker motor would not work. Solution - The switch wire was not correctly connected in the P.C. board so we connected them the right way.
7. Problem - The censor kept getting too close to the ground. Solution-tighten the screws.
8.Problem-The wire wouldn't stay in their hatch. Solutions-We stuck it in harder
9.Problem-Some of the gear were on backwards. Solutions-We turned it over on the right side.
10.Problem-The pieces kept falling off. Solution-put them on tighter.
After we recognized these problems we used different methods and figured them out. So as a result we made a successesful line tracker.
Conclusion
In conclusion we built a suceesssful line tracker that conducts the tasks set for it.