The IRC in Atlanta’s Youth Futures program recently collaborated with Georgia Sierra Club and a student group from Georgia Tech to make the first field trip of the school year a great success. After volunteering with Youth Futures last year, students from the Georgia Tech chapter of Books Not Bombs applied for the United Nations Academic Impact Millennium Fellowship to receive support in planning interactive STEM workshops for IRC students.
The first field trip of the school year was a great success, thanks to partners at Georgia Tech and Georgia Sierra Club.
Photo: IRC Atlanta
For the first workshop of the series the Georgia Tech students joined Youth Futures on a Sierra Club outing to Sweetwater Creek Park, where they introduced the Clarkston High School students to fundamental engineering principles and encouraged creative problem solving—and some competitive fun—with a cardboard boat building contest. Students learned equations related to water displacement and drag force, then applied these as they worked in teams to construct the boat that could hold the most weight with the least amount of drag.
A Georgia Tech volunteer and Youth Futures students with their finished boat.
Photo: IRC Atlanta
When asked what they learned from the activity, students responded that they don’t usually like math in school, but they thought this workshop was “interesting and important” and that it helped them “not to be afraid to try new things.” They also discussed the value of planning before working and managing their time well.
After the morning workshop, students shared a picnic lunch and went on a beautiful hike along the Chattahoochee River. There was plenty of laughter and smiles as students explored the river, made new friends and enjoyed a carefree afternoon away from the stress of day-to-day responsibilities. The IRC in Atlanta is grateful for community partners like Georgia Sierra Club and Georgia Tech Books Not Bombs for their ongoing support of our youth programs.
Students had hours of fun in the water!
Photo: IRC Atlanta
To learn more about the work of the IRC in Atlanta and for information on how you can get involved with the IRC as a donor or volunteer, please contact Senior Development Manager, Kalie Lasiter, at Kalie.Lasiter [at] Rescue.org or 678-636-8941.
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