By Erin Fulbright

Scotlandville Magnet High School held its annual Engineering Symposium through their Engineering Magnet program for 11th graders on Friday, Nov. 19 at the school in Baton Rouge. Bonton Associates were this year's industry sponsor. 

Each year the symposium presents students with a challenge in a particular discipline. They are broken up into groups and have two weeks to solve the issue and prepare a presentation of their findings. Industry leaders and board members judge each group's presentation. 

Students were challenged to build a water filtration system to illustrate the basic process taken by a municipal water plant that purifies water for drinking.  Each group created their dirty water and made their filter. They simulated the water filtering process and then tested the water before and after to show the effects of their filters. 

During the symposium, students presented data on tri-fold posters along with their water filters and the before and after water samples. The industry sponsor and members of the Scotlandville Magnet High School board judged each group based on their findings and their presentation skills. 

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After the symposium, the students walk away with a realistic idea of what engineering could be for them. "The students walk away with an open mind about the field of engineering, the problem-solving of engineering, and they walk away with an idea of what type of engineering they might be interested in doing," said Stacie Maiden, lead teacher for the engineering program. 

The Scotlandville Magnet High School's engineering program is collaborative, creative, and has a critical-thinking component highly focused on problem-solving skills. 

ONLINE: www.scotlandvillemagnethigh.org.