Engineering

Watertown Robotics Team Earns Honors for Success in Competition & Team Spirit

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Travis NorrisThe Watertown High School Robotics Team celebrated after becoming a finalist at the FIRST Robotics Greater Boston Event and winning the Team Spirit Award. A small but dedicated group of Watertown High School students designed, programmed, and piloted a robot that competed and fared well against competition from around Eastern Massachusetts. And the WHS Robotics Team enjoyed one of its most successful years in 2022. The team reached the final of the knockout stage of the Greater Boston Event in late March. This is the farthest the team has ever advanced in its history.

Schools

Watertown Schools Receive Grant to Support Engineering Program

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The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Public Schools:

Superintendent Deanne Galdston is pleased to share that Watertown High School has been awarded a $150,000 Skills Capital Grant by the Baker-Polito administration. The grant will support Watertown High’s Engineering Technology Program, the school’s first vocational/technical pathway, which is completed over three years beginning in students’ sophomore year. There are nine courses that students complete as part of the engineering program — engineering design, principles of engineering, digital electronics, civil engineering and architecture, computer integrated manufacturing, environmental sustainability, introduction to robotics, engineering design and development, and all aspects of the engineering industry. The Skills Capital Grant will allow Watertown High School to purchase and install state-of-the-art equipment that students will use to gain hands-on experience with real-world tools used in the engineering field. The equipment includes:

CNC milling equipment3D printersRobotic arm kitsMicroscopesDigital shaking waterbathElectrophoresis kitsBand saw, drill press and laser engraverVEX kits for computer integrated manufacturingNikon AX2S auto level, and more

“The Engineering Technology Program is an exciting way for students to gain practical experience in a growing and ever-changing field, and the Skills Capital Grant will be a tremendous help as we work to make the program more immersive and engaging,” Career Technical Education Coordinator Laura Alderson Rotondo said.

Schools

Watertown Looking at Adding Technical Ed Programs to High School

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Watertown High School may be getting technical education programs for students interested in engineering and medical assisting, but first the district must get approval from State officials. The vocational technical programs would be part of the Mass. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Chapter 74 program. Laura Alderson Rotondo, the district’s Career Technical Education (CTE) coordinator, said the programs not just include classes, but relationships are formed between the school and people who practice the profession locally, as well as with local colleges. The high school currently has some engineering classes, but will need to offer more, Rotondo said.

Bright Horizons

Museum of Science Teams with Watertown-Based Child Care Network to Teach STEM

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Students at a Bright Horizons child care center participate in a challenge created by the Museum of Science. The Museum of Science has teamed up with Watertown-based Bright Horizons to get young children at their centers excited about engineering and science. Using the museum’s EiE Wee Engineer program, Bright Horizons curriculum encourages children to be creative and innovative as they participate in hands-on challenges designed to nurture their love of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and demonstrate that there is more than one way to solve a problem, according to Rachel Robertson, Vice President, Education & Development at Bright Horizons. “As a Watertown-based organization, we’re very familiar with the Museum of Science and the high caliber educational programming it offers, both in the museum and through its work in schools across the region,” Robertson said. “At Bright Horizons, we’re always looking at new and innovative approaches that not only prepare our students for elementary school, but also lay the foundation for a lifelong love of learning.

Schools

Watertown Students Get a Taste of Science, Technology & More During STEM Week

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In an effort to boost interest by students in STEM education — science, technology, engineering and math — the Baker-Polito Administration declared Oct. 22-26, 2018 STEM Week. The Watertown Public Schools organized a range of events for students in elementary, middle and high school, including field trips to local companies, panels of professionals, and design challenges. Some of the students and classes attending the events are from STEM subjects, but there are others from classes like civics and economics. Laura Alderson Rotondo, the district’s Career Technical Education (CTE) coordinator, said she would have liked to have gotten every student in the district involved in the STEM Week activities, but having started planning in September it was not possible.