UT Engineering at Westbury Christian School

UT Engineering, a dual enrollment program offered by the University of Texas, is one of the newly added classes to Westbury Christian’s diverse curriculum. By bringing STEM enthusiasts together in one classroom, this program fosters communication, critical thinking, and real-life problem-solving skills among students.

As their first project of the year, students are tasked to build a pinhole camera for the handicapped using simple materials. To better understand how the pinhole camera works, students conduct an experiment in a dark room covered with trash bags to simulate the environment of a camera obscura.

Teacher Mr. Kenneth Okwuonu then holds a large sheet of white paper in front of a light source to display the image that shines through. By moving the film paper closer and decreasing the size of the hole that channels light, the image becomes more focused and defined. Under Mr. Okwuonu's guidance, the class proceeds to explore fundamental concepts of the camera, calculation methods, and universal engineering principles to equip themselves for their assignment.

In the next few weeks, students embark on an innovative journey of analyzing customer needs, evaluating constraints, and brainstorming for designs while maintaining an organized engineering notebook that thoroughly records and reflects upon their daily progress. The engineering notebook is one of the key components of the pinhole camera project. Students prepare themselves to meet this challenge as they delve deeper into documentation and data analysis techniques through  collaborative sketches and colorful mind maps. 

Most recently, the class began constructing their prototype pinhole camera in small groups of two. The makerspace bustles with energy as the sounds of scissors, lively conversations, and drawers being opened permeate the classroom. While immersing themselves in this transformative hands-on experience, students discover the importance of cooperation and creativity combined with technical knowledge.

Although moments of frustration do arise during this process, Mr. Okwuonu constantly reminds his students that “In this class, there are no wrong or stupid solutions,” encouraging them to input ideas of all sorts. Hopefully, after weeks of dedication, these young engineers can successfully develop a pinhole camera.