The Boydston group participated in the Engineering Expo hosted at UW-Madison by presenting an exhibit called “Playing with Plastics: How Scientists Make Meaningful Materials.”
The exhibit included interactive demonstrations featuring 3D printing, active experiments, and real-world examples, to help participants understand plastics all the way down to the atomic scale! Also, sneak a peek into the future of plastics through demonstrations with shape-memory, light-responsive, and self-healing materials.
This year, we placed second among research groups out of 50 total exhibits and were awarded $500! We’ll definitely get 1st place next year!
Outreach
Building 3D Printers with Memorial High School Students
Throughout summer 2021 and 2022, Jerry and Kyle taught a group of Memorial High School students the principles of 3D printing. The group learned to build their own 3D printer, how to determine and optimize print parameters, and even converted their printer into their very own powder melt extrusion (PME) printer capable of printing recycled plastics.
The Boydston Group presented at the UW-Madison Engineering Expo 2022 and won 3rd place!
In the Spring of 2022, Kyle and Rachel organized an exhibit for the UW College of Engineering, Engineering Expo. The Expo was over two days, the first of which catered to local middle school students, and the second was open to the public.
The exhibit was titled, “Playing with Plastics: How Scientists Make Meaningful Materials.” We wanted to help visitors understand the chemical and physical differences between commonly encountered plastics. Interactive demonstrations included making slime, vat and extrusion 3D printing, and dissolving packing peanuts. The whole group helped out with the exhibit and was awarded 3rd place by a panel of judges.
Teaching Problem-based Learning at Sammamish High School
The Boydston Group has been involved in discussions regarding lesson plans and lab planning, and has helped develop hands-on lab experiences in which SHS students work with UW graduate researchers to address a specific scientific problem. The environment provides an opportunity for young students to get a glimpse of how researchers approach scientific problems, and for graduate researchers to explain the impacts of their research and how it builds from key fundamental principles in chemistry.