HUNTERDON CENTRAL REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT

DESIGN AND APPLIED TECHNOLOGY
Curricular Highlights
This year has been a year of change and expanding into the unknown. With this expanded agenda, we
encountered some failure but much more success; the challenges are not considered failures, but rather they
were learning experiences.
Hydroponics
Introduction to Engineering Design included a hydroponic project and we quickly realized that it takes more
than dirt and water to make a seed grow. During the project, we had some issues with leakage since the systems
ran for about three months. The project was based in engineering design principals of hydroponic system and
how well the system ran. The students were required to maintain the systems and evaluate plant growth. They
kept a running journal of their systems on a wiki page and updated it weekly. The project will be utilized again
next year with changes to designs and safety systems to minimize leakage.
Sun chip
Another project introduced was one of environmental sustainability. Sun chip bags claim to be decomposable;
we took the claim into different environments. The Sun chip claim is in ideal decomposition conditions. We
placed samples into different scenarios and tracked their decomposition. We kept weekly records of weight and
tensile strength for each strip. Again, we kept the data on a wiki site and, in the end, were able to chart the
decomposition rates based on the samples conditions. The most important change in this project is accurate
starting samples to maintain integrity of the study.
BP
Also, in the Into to Engineering class we did a collaboration project with another school in Virginia. The project
was based on the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. This was the first collaboration project with another
school; we quickly learned that open communications and a clear understanding of expectations are essential
when communication with a group strictly by email. Although, we would like to do another collaboration
project, we would set up ground rules and make sure everyone was on track with the concept.
Although the Inventions and Innovations class has been a staple in Design and Applied Technology, expanding
elements within the program has enriched and made the program better. Additions to a design project allowed
the students to create an original invention or innovations and expanded it into an infomercial. The first time
through, we made the project simple and filmed the students in the classroom. The results were not very
impressive. We decided to do more with the project and reach out to Tim Klein and Heather Hersey for
assistance. With their help the students were better prepared to film the commercials themselves with scripts,
editing and locations chosen by the students. The infomercials were a success. Student interaction was high and
they really took an interest in preparing the best commercial they could. They practiced, filmed and edited until
they were happy with the results. Students even came in during tutorial to film and edit to make their product
the best it could be. The students seemed to enjoy the interactivity and the ability to take charge of a project and
make it their own.
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