Natalia Bourg Post #2

My previous post was about the first day of the internship, as well as the Wednesday and Thursday of that week. This post will be about the second day of the internship, because it was particularly different! On this day, I got to accompany Professor Jovanovich to the Baby Cakes stadium in order to help run a UNO table at STEM event for children. It was such a beautiful day outside, and interacting with all the children made me so happy! It was also a bonus that we got to watch bits of the baseball game going on behind us. In the morning, I helped set up the table by securing the UNO banners and taping things down to the table so the wind wouldn't take them away. At our table, we had split baseballs and base ball bats, as well as a reflex testing game. The other UNO table, which was connected to ours, had a trivia game with a spinner I helped label, as well as some prizes. For most of the day, I ran the reflex testing game, and explained the parts of the baseball to the children as the stopped by. I myself learned something new, which is that there is a small chunk of foam inside metal baseball bats in order to absorb some of the energy from the ball. This is where the batter should try and hit the ball, because without that foam to absorb the energy, the bat would vibrate and hurt their hands. The science behind the baseball, such as the stitches creating a region of low pressure, also surprised me. It made me laugh that most of the kids, upon seeing the inside of the baseball, either said "Oh, that's why it hurts!" or "Ew!" The simple reflex test was also really enjoyable, because though catching a ruler as quickly as possible might sound easy, it's quite difficult, and the children thought it was really funny when they couldn't catch it very quickly or it slipped through their fingers. I was so happy to help out, and the environment of kids excited about science and surprised at what they were learning made me feel more motivated to peruse engineering. I also had the chance to look at other tables that were set up, including First Robotics, which is a group I'm interested in volunteering for in college. One of my favorite things was also just getting to talk to Professor Jovanovich, who is very kind and inspirational. He and I share many common interests, and talking with him about engineering, space flight, and family was certainly a highlight of the day. This day wasn't exactly something I had expected, but I enjoyed every moment of it!