New Science Classes Coming to Hanover

HHS in 3-D produced by MS Milender on the 3-D printer.
Photo by Sarah Siegel

Two new semester-long STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Art) science classes are coming to Hanover High next year. Ms Milender will teach DARMA (Design, Applied Research, and Modeling Art), and Mr. Holloway will teach Tools 101. DARMA is a semester-long problem-solving course offered to incoming juniors and seniors with unlimited directions for students to go in, utilizing new technologies such as rapid prototyping machines (a computer numerical controlled (CNC) machine and 3D printers). “In DARMA, students will develop and/or hone their skills with CAD (Computer Aided Design), woodworking and metalworking tools, technology, and design,” says Ms Milender.  She hopes that “the DARMA experience will mimic the real world. Whether at school, home, on the job, or in the community at large, problems will present themselves that need to be solved. ” Students will be able to work together and individually on projects that they want to do. “I hope we have a lot of fun while learning, sharing, and supporting one another throughout the process,” says Ms Milender. “The final product,” a real-life design challenge, “will truly be a culmination of the students’ own research, design, modeling, and engineering.

An unusual take on the modern desk.
Photo courtesy of Ms Milender

For all intents and purposes there is no such thing as a wrong answer!”

Students in the first quarter of DARMA will be designing new student desks as their final project. Tools 101 will “return students to tinkering.” Students will be able to work with their hands as well as new technology to facilitate their natural creativity, innovation, and design. Mr. Holloway says, “I always find it exciting to start a new course whether I am teaching it or taking it. Tools 101 has new thoughts and ideas with new technology and a new group of people using their brains and their hands to build fun projects.” Tools 101 will cover four areas of industrial technology: woodworking, metal shaping, electronics, and rapid prototyping. “After having a generation of many homeowners hiring out every fix-it job, we are starting to see ‘do it yourselfers’ coming back. Learning about tools and how to put them to proper use is key to building and repairing. I believe all students in their high school experience should take some sort of a course that has them working and building something ‘hands on,’” says Mr. Holloway.