High School Mechanical Engineering Course

Q: I am currently trying to start a high school course in mechanical engineering at my school. It would be taught to seniors who are taking AP Calculus (eqiv. college calc. I) at the same time. It would be taught as an honors science course, so something like 1st year junior college introduction to mechanical engineering type course would probably be appropriate. It would be taught with a block schedule of two hours a day, everyday, with access to a reasonably complete shop facility for at least one hour a day. I would like it to include at least some hands-on type activities. I would most appreciate any advice, reccomendations, or possible sources of information for this kind of course

A: I've participated, both as a student and as a team mentor (currently ongoing), for classes dealing with reverse engineering projects, from the simple to relatively complex.

Here at UT, there is a freshman-level "Introduction to Mechanical Engineering" project in which the students are introduced to some of the basic areas of Mechanical Engineering. The class is being reworked to include a week to two week reverse engineering project on a child's toy. I think this would be an excellent project for motivated high school students. They would have a great opportunity to learn some of the principles of engineering as they apply to actual design as well as learn some of the terminology prevalent in engineering. I would be more than happy to offer some suggestions and hit up a couple of the professors involved in these programs here at UT.