Lewiston, MN / May 31, 2012 –PlastiCert, a 31 year provider of innovative and service oriented plastic injection mold design and injection molding services was invited to participate in Lewiston-Altura High School’s (LAHS) first Project Lead the Way class, Intro to Engineering Design (IED) project presentations.
Industrial Technology Instructor Joel Ellinghuysen has introduced Project Lead The Way (PLTW) to the Lewiston Altura School District. PTLW is the leading provider of rigorous and innovative Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education curricular programs used in middle and high schools across the U.S. This year, LAHS joins more than 4,200 schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia in offering PLTW courses to their students. In addition, PLTW has trained more than 10,500 teachers to instruct its engaging, rigorous STEM education curriculum. The High School portion of the PLTW program is called Pathway to Engineering, a sequence of courses which follows a proven hands-on, real-world problem-solving approach to learning. The first of which is Intro to Engineering Design (IED). Designed for 9th or 10th grade students, the major focus of IED is the design process and its application. Through hands-on projects, students apply engineering standards and document their work. Students use industry standard 3D modeling software to help them design solutions to solve proposed problems, document their work using an engineer’s notebook, and communicate solutions to peers and members of the professional community.
PlastiCert President and Owner Craig Porter was invited to join industry, administration and school board members as the LAHS students presented their designs to their classroom and peers. “These future engineers looked around at everyday life and chose a problem they wanted to solve by designing a new product”, remarked Porter. “Product designs in areas from sporting goods, to agriculture, and home décor were created, documented and presented”.