Have you heard of the Mini Engineering Academy?

Well, six Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) students participated in what has been dubbed a first at Neptune High School.

The following release from RFH gives the whole scoop on the event:

RFH freshmen Reed DiCenso, Aidan Eustace, Jack Rallo, Matthew Ramirez, Chris Steinhacker, and Tyler Whetzel attended evening sessions that ran from Wednesday, February 25 through Wednesday, April 22.

Sponsored by the Neptune High School JumpStart Engineering Academy and IEEE, the inaugural program covered topics including Aerospace Engineering, Designing Green Buildings, Aviation, Electrical Engineering, Power Grids, and the Fluid Dynamics of Surfboard Design.

“For a first-year program, we felt that they did a great job,” said Jack Rallo. “The program covered a lot of different aspects of the science of engineering,”

“All of the presentations and activities were great in different ways,” said Tyler Whetzel. “We were able to see which aspects of engineering we valued the most.”

Highlights of the program for the RFH group, all aspiring engineers, included working in teams to build hydrogen-powered cars; visiting and learning about the “green” elementary school located in Neptune; exploring all aspects of solar cells; and using software to measure the aerodynamic qualities of a surfboard design.

RFH Science Supervisor Sharon Bryant learned of the Mini Engineering Academy during a County Supervisors’ Meeting and asked the RFH Science Teachers to inform their students.

“I am so proud of these students for taking the time to participate in the Mini Engineering Academy — they built critical thinking skills and gained engineering experience, both of which are vital in future science,” said Bryant. “The lesson of trying new ideas – and sometimes failing — so growth and improvement can occur in future attempts is an important one for these students to carry forward in their academics and in life.

“I hope they will be able to participate in this program again next year and use their new knowledge to create, invent, and learn even more!”