Engineering in middle school?

• Yes, if that school is Buford Middle School. Working with the University of Virginia, the Smithsonian Institution, and other area school divisions, Buford Middle School has pioneered an engineering curriculum to take advantage of its state-of-the-art facilities. We want to give today’s students a glimpse of their future world.

- Photo courtesy Daily Progress/Andrew Shurtleff

• Buford engineers — both teachers and students — have presented their student-driven learning at the National Museum of American History and at STEM educators’ conferences across the country.

Buford’s engineering program is based on a class originally taught at Princeton University. It shows how key scientific breakthroughs shaped the United States and the world. Working with the Smithsonian Institution, our teachers, students, and community partners have developed “Historical Invention Kits.” These kits teach important science concepts by recreating key inventions from American history. Students learn about these inventions and then use modern advanced manufacturing technologies (such as 3-D printers, laser cutters, and  computer-aided design using the SolidWorks software) to reconstruct and reinvent these historic breakthroughs. By studying inventions such as the electric motor, the telegraph, the telephone, the electric light, the electrical power grid, and radio, students gain a hands-on understanding of electromagnetics, circuitry, and the engineering design process. Each “invention kit” builds on previous knowledge – just as the inventions themselves did.

Buford science and engineering students learn in new facilities, equipped with the latest technology such as 3D printers, computer-aided design (CAD) software, digital die cutters, a laser cutter and more. These high-tech systems allow for rapid prototyping so that students can design and create – and then examine their work to make it better.  That’s the very heart of engineering.

Our facilities and curriculum have attracted international attention, from China, Japan, the Netherlands and more. The Buford Labs were made possible not only through local support from the City of Charlottesville and the University of Virginia, but also from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, the Motorola Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. See full list of sponsors, below.

Tomorrow’s job market will reward knowledge and skills in coding, design, problem-solving, and STEM literacy. At Charlottesville City Schools, we lay a foundation for strong science and math skills for even our youngest students through the iSTEM program.  We believe that engineering is elementary!

• As students head into middle school, we want to equip them with STEM skills as well as the engineering of studying a problem, designing a solution, prototyping a plan, testing the result, and then improving on the process.

Charlottesville High School is widely recognized for its students’ STEM success, as Black Knights represent our region in international programming competitions, competitive NASA programs, state robotics competitions, and more.  The Sigma engineering program at CHS prepares students for pathways to engineering studies and careers that take advantage of advanced technologies.

Buford’s Alpha engineering program is fully aligned with CHS.  Our one-semester Engineering Foundations class for 7th or 8th-graders gives a good introduction, and the year-long Engineering 1 class for 8th-graders follows the CHS curriculum and offers high-school credit.

• There are no math pre-requisites and there is no application process; we want as many students as possible to begin exploring the world of engineering, so that they are equipped to thrive in the world of the future.