FAMES® Young Engineers Program lesson titled “Parachute Design” was presented by University of Maryland’s (UMD) Department of Aerospace Engineering (UMDAero) students, Richard Francis, Jaylen Nathwani, Jessica Queen, Katherine Taylor and Curtis Williams. The speakers introduced themselves and discussed what inspired them to become Aerospace Engineers. It is interesting to learn what inspires the young students to study STEM subjects of their choice. For FAMES® goal of ‘Creating the workforce of tomorrow and raising the leaders of today’, the speakers also described their career options after graduating from college.
One of the most challenging places to use a parachute is on another planet. The UMDAero student teachers started off discussing the recent landing of the Perseverance Rover on Mars. This helped connect the lesson on parachute design with the prior BGCGW class on the principles of aerodynamics. Guided by the UMDAero students, the BGCGW young engineers built and tested their own parachutes. They had a great time building multiple parachutes and learning what designs work the best.
Noting the advantage of virtual learning Jessica Queen pointed out that “many students from the University of Maryland were able to work together to put together various lesson plans and easily sign-in to Zoom to present the information.” Katherine Taylor said that “the ability to test their designs also created a competitive spirit within the students to try to do better with each test of their parachute; this was exciting to see.” According to Richard Francis “the kids were interested in the activity and seemed to really want to build the parachutes.” Jaylen Nathwani noted that Mars Perseverance Rover caught the attention of BGCGW students. Jaylen said “when presenting the concepts of how parachutes worked and how they relate to Aerospace, having a current event to relate to was very good at catching the attention of the kids.” Curtis Williams, himself a BGCGW alumni, observed that enthusiasm is contagious, “Everyone in our group agrees that the students were very involved with the build activity.”
FAMES® hands-on Young Engineering Program for the youth at BGCGW is a collaboration with Dr. Andrew Becnel of the University of Maryland’s Department of Aerospace Engineering (UMDAero) and his students. An exciting series of presentations were given to young students of BGCGW in the Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia area. The program inspires young minds, and also provides students in STEM fields an opportunity to teach others and become future leaders. Thank you Richard Francis, Jaylen Nathwani, Jessica Queen, Katherine Taylor and Curtis Williams for your time and support to FAMES® Young Engineers Program.
These STEM activities were made possible by a grant from the SAMPE Foundation, a philanthropic program within SAMPE North America focused on the support of K-12 STEM education.
FAMES® would like to give a special thanks to Dr. Andrew Becnel of UMDAreo. Dr. Becnel is passionate about STEM 
education for youth. Thank you Professor Norman Wereley, UMDAero. Thank you Jimmy Works, BGCGW HQ and Shawn Michael Osborn, BGCGW Jelleff for your support and dedication for youth STEM education. (031521)
FAMES® (www.famesusa.org) is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization dedicated to mentoring and educating underserved and underrepresented youth in Grades 4-12 in finance, arts, and STEM subjects. FAMES® programs inspire the students to attend college, bolster self-confidence, and help them develop a path for future professional success.