Engineers from McMAHON recently volunteered at the Bay-Lakes Council annual STEM Pi Day held at Fox Valley Technical College.  Chad Olsen, Environmental Engineer, and Dan Brellen, Structural Engineer, presented to 4th and 5th Grade Scouts about their respective fields of engineering, their educational background, and the importance of engineers in every day life.  Scouts earned the Engineer Pin at STEM Pi Day.  The Engineer Adventure is designed to educate Scouts about science and mathematics technologies and introduce them to career options in engineering.

In addition to their presentations, Chad and Dan brought along some tools of the trade to share with the Scouts to help them get a hands-on demonstration of what they do.  Chad brought along a microscope and sample of “bugs” used in the biological treatment of wastewater. The Scouts enjoyed learning about the science involved and looking through the microscope to see the “bugs” at work.  Dan brought along engineering drawings of several of his structural design projects, including the recent renovations to the building where the presentations were taking place.  The Scouts enjoyed relating the drawings to the actual building and trying to interpret where they were relative to the plans.  He also provided a glimpse into some of the complex mathematical equations that he uses as part of his field, reinforcing to the Scouts the benefits of learning math.