Engineering FUNdamentals

About the Teacher

Mr. Calderon is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelors degree in Psychology (Pre-Med) and a Masters degree in counseling from St. Edwards University. He has been a middle school teacher for Pflugerville I.S.D. at Westview Middle School for 7 years. He has taught 6th, 7th, and 8th grade math and science. He has also been a cheerleading coach and a boys soccer coach for at Westview for 4 years. The Westview Middle School Cheerleading team achieved a National Championship in 2010 and a Regional Championship in 2012. The boys soccer team also recently won the district championship for P.I.S.D. in May of 2012. Mr. Calderon is also a GED instructor for Austin Community College where he has personally achieved over 120 graduates from program. Mr. Calderon’s philosophy in teaching and coaching is to create a positive, comfortable environment where students have the ability to learn and excel. He is an avid chess player and always enjoys a quick game to keep his students engaged. During his off time, Mr. Calderon enjoys spending time with his daughters (Victoria -15 and Isabella-7) bike riding, swimming and golfing. As an ongoing project of 6 years, Mr. Calderon has volunteered time to collect blankets and clothing for Austin’s homeless as well as donations for the Boys Scouts Club #2 in his home town of Chihuahua, Mexico. He is excited to join this wonderful organization and looks forward to spending time this summer with his new students.

A note from the teacher & some of the things the campers learned while in camp

Objective– Campers will explore the different types of engineering fields and what engineers do. Campers will have a chance to get hands on experience in building and troubleshooting different types of vehicles. Campers will get a chance to design aerodynamic cars and planes to improve speed and decrease drag on moving vehicles.

Monday – Campers began this week by studying simple machines such as the use of a lever, pulley, wheel, and balance. The focus for the day will be the different types of engineering, specifically mechanical engineering. Students will then develop their own pulley system to lift different types of loads and they will use lever to minimize effort.

Tuesday– Campers will continue exploring the world of mechanical engineering and design by using step by step instructions to build a functioning wind up car. Each student worked in a team, taking turns in hands on building and eventually decorating and re-designing the cars to make them aerodynamic. At the end of the day, a challenge allowed us to see which car was the fastest.

Wednesday– Campers began to explore the world of aerospace engineering by creating a teachers worst nightmare. A perfect paper airplane!!! We began by exploring the different designs that would fly through the air- from a paper wad, to a flat sheet of paper, or a paper airplane. Students also began working cutting and designing a helicopter.

Thursday– Campers continued their exploration of the world of aerospace engineering. Campers completed and flew their helicopter. Young People then began designing and building parachutes. The parachutes were made of common household goods such as paper towels, yarn and paper clips. Students ended the day with a competition of the most aerodynamic vehicle.

Friday– Campers ended their magnificent week, with a real hand on activity in case they get stranded out in the middle of the ocean. Young People will learn how to make appropriate knots as well as the material type so that the raft will float. Campers built their own raft to use at home. We even went outside and collected sticks to make a group raft. Students then used their splash day to test out the rafts in the small pool. Students did an excellent job and were able to expand their knowledge in engineering. Great Job!!!

Click here to download the 2013 YPW Camps Catalog