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Team Corporation Volunteers Inspire Kids at STEAM Event

On Saturday, November 2nd, four Team Corporation Engineers volunteered their time to participate in the local STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, & Math) Expo sponsored by Lynden Noon Kiwanis Club in Lynden, WA. The event strives to provide a fun and educational event where children have the opportunity to explore, play, and experiment with Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Math.

You’re looking at sand on a black metal plate (Chladni Plate) attached to a machine that vibrates the plate up and down at high frequencies (Data Physics vibration shaker). Certain frequencies set up standing wave patterns in the plate. When there is a place on the plate where the waves are the greatest (an antinode) the sand is pushed away and collects in the areas where the plate is hardly moving at all (the nodes). Different frequencies produce different patterns in the sand which can end up looking quite beautiful.

The Team Corporation volunteers designed and built a vibration testing technology demonstration for approximately 1,000 attending young participants – ranging in age from 5 to 12 years old.

Team Corporation’s Engineers used two Data Physics SignalForce™ GW-V4 mini shakers to create two technology demonstrations:

1 One mini shaker was mounted for vertical vibration of a structure made of marshmallows and spaghetti. The kids made their own structure, and the engineers placed them on the shaker to test. (see video)

2 The other mini shaker demonstrated cymatics/modal vibration, using sand sprinkled on a flat plate mounted on a shaker that created different sand patterns under certain frequencies. (see image below)

You’re looking at sand on a black metal plate (Chladni Plate) attached to a machine (Data Physics vibration shaker) that vibrates the plate up and down at high frequencies. Certain frequencies set up standing wave patterns in the plate. When there is a place on the plate where the waves are the greatest (an antinode) the sand is pushed away and collects in the areas where the plate is hardly moving at all (the nodes). Different frequencies produce different patterns in the sand which can end up looking quite beautiful.

The Team Corporation engineers that volunteered their time were:

    Eli Stredicke
    Ben Zuniga
    Daniel Lara
    Scott Copas

We believe that science, technology, engineering and math are cool, and as it turns out, the kids do too. The Team Corporation demonstration turned out to be the most popular demo in the building, and the kids had a great time participating! Many thanks to our volunteers!

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