NAF Engineering Academy

Mission Statement:

The Burbank Unified School District NAF Academy will provide an academic and technology-based program that inspires students to become respectful and successful members of a continually evolving global community. Through high-quality instruction, community service, shadowing experiences, and internships. Students will graduate with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in college, the workplace, and the world beyond.

In this project, we worked in teams to construct a bridge out of wood pieces that could hold the largest weight. I used the engineering principle of triangles to construct the bridge shown above. As opposed to squares, triangles are the strongest shape, giving our design a lot of strength. Thanks to our design, we placed first in our class! We held at least 100lbs, with both ends of the bridge on either side of a desk and a chasm in the middle, a bucket holding a slowly increasing amount of weight.

Engineering One

This STEM course is a basic introduction to engineering for all students. Students who complete this course will learn the concepts necessary in order to develop their ideas into solutions that will improve our lives. Exciting hands-on learning activities like bridge building, soldering, metal applications, robotics, and safety apply math and science content from other courses in a STEM experience. The course’s intention and purpose is to educate students in a “main line” method providing STEM education for everyone. As a new freshmen or sophomore student, this is a good place to form connections and build on analytical skills with basic concepts.

Engineering and Design

This STEM course is a basic introduction to engineering design and woodshop for all students. Students who complete this course will learn the concepts necessary in order to develop their ideas into solutions that will improve our lives. Exciting hands-on learning activities like blueprint design, power tool use, heavy machinery use, original creative design, and safety are hands-on content from this course to add to a STEM experience. The course’s intention and purpose is to educate students in a hands-on method providing STEM education for everyone. As a new freshman or sophomore student, this is a good place to form connections and learn to use power tools in a safe environment.

In this class, we learned how to use power tools and smaller, hand-held tools to create designs. I created many things in this class. One of my final projects was to create a box. I took my creativity and put a spin on it, creating a rose-shaped box that opened to reveal a small space, perfect for a small message (or maybe a ring!). Another of my favorite projects was right before Christmas, when I made custom coasters for my family. The one shown at the right included the design of the Starry Night by Van Gogh for my mother. I also did designs of my cat, Arcane, the Gunslinger, the LA Kings, and another Van Gogh painting.

Physics

This physics course is a qualitative and quantitative study of the central concepts of physics, including mechanics, thermodynamics, waves, sound, light, electricity and magnetism, and modern physics. Emphasis will be placed on mental imagery that relates to things and events that are familiar in the everyday environment. Labs and experiments are not uncommon and include an egg drop project, building cantilevers out of toothpicks, and electro-static technology.

In this activity, we were testing how fast the speed of the marble would be when released with initial velocity. I worked in a team to complete the project, and I remember it being a lot of fun. This class had many similar projects where we got to learn by doing and visualize important Physics concepts. After taking the AP test at the end of the year, I am proud to report I scored a 4.

Engineering Two

This advanced engineering STEM course makes a contribution to the curriculum by providing opportunities for students and teachers to link content together and apply it to solve problems. More and more jobs demand advanced skills, requiring that people be able to learn, reason, think creatively, make decisions, and solve problems. An understanding of science, technology, engineering and math and their methods contribute in an essential way to these skills. Principles of Engineering is a team based advanced course with an intention and purpose to educate students in a “main line” method providing STEM education for everyone. Some projects include robotics, 3D designing in TinkerCad, and building a cantilever out of paper.

In this project, we worked in groups to create a custom robot that would fight other groups in our class. We started by following a manual, using the same materials as everyone else, to create the base structure. Once our robots worked, we were given free reign to customize and improve upon the design of our robots. By the end, our group had changed our design to be front wheel drive, changed the back tires to be thicker, and added weight to the front of the robot so it would hold its own in the ring. In the end, our robot scored fourth place!

NAF Certification Completion

I have currently completed my four years of high school in the NAF Engineering Academy, completing all four required classes, AP Computer Science as a bonus, and completing all other requirements to graduate NAF certified.

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