Please call me Mr. V

Mr. V. That is how the students of the Science Olympiad class addressed me. For a week and a half following Semana Santa I switched my Nehemiah Center hat in for a Nicaraguan Christian Academy one where I taught a workshop on bridges and bridge construction. It was an “out of my comfort zone” experience, yet one that I have really enjoyed and am grateful to have done.

A little background 411 first...Nicaraguan Christian Academy is a Christian elementary and high school here in Managua. It is a fully accredited U.S. School and therefore all classes are in English – hence I was able to teach. Check out their website http://www.nca.edu.ni/ for some more information. Science Olympiad is a course offered to the high school students (it is very popular in the United States). It uses experiments and projects as a method to teach the students about science. You should google it sometime as there is quite the following and sites on this stuff!

Okay, so that gets you a little familiar with the background setting. The upfront (does that word work?) setting is that there are 13 students in the class, an official real life teacher watching – to make sure I don't screw up - and to boot the classroom feels like a sauna in this Nicaragua heat. The object of the workshop was to grasp the concept of bridge design and efficiency by building and testing a popsicle stick bridge. The class would be divided up into groups and then worked to design and produce the lightest popsicle stick bridge (Truss Style) able to carry a load of 15 kilograms.

First up, one must become one with bridges, to think like a bridge. This requires thorough studies in engineering in addition to a complete comprehension of Sir Newton's laws of physics. I feel I was able to easily condense all that into one 50 minute class, even with a river of sweat falling from my brow – you know all in a days work really. I was a teaching machine filling the students mind with so much information that they needed naps during the class just keep from overloading, or maybe it was the fact the class was right after lunch?! In all seriousness though I was actually able to stick to the handout and avoided rambling on and on aimlessly. The only major error I guess would be mixing up a permanent marker for a dry erase one....oops.

So nap time was over, oops I mean lecture time. The next 4 classes were centered around designing and constructing there popsicle stick structures. It was a true gift to be spend those workshops just walking around and talking with each group. Sitting down and going over different design options and determining the best way to build the Trusses. There were many different techniques tried and used that brought a good range of diversity and examples to teach about with the class. I thank them for the fun times I had and all they taught me during those workshops!

At last each group had created their popsicle stick bridge. It is judgement day and I was Captain Crunch (the nickname of an old professor who did this at my college – no joke) ready to bring havoc to the masses of wood and glue. A little harsh maybe? But none-the-less it was time to put these bad boys to the test and “load” them up until structural failure (basically when the bridge turned into toothpicks!) It was awesome to see how well all the bridges did, despite some skepticism from the myself and even the students. I will let the pics below tell the rest of this day.

Looking back on this almost a week later I am very thankful for this opportunity that N.C.A. (Rachel P., and Joel D.) gave me. It gave me 1 – a new found respect for those that teach, 2 – a chance to see another part of the culture here in Managua, and 3 – a realization that I actually might have some knowledge in this old brain that is worth sharing!