On March 18, 2017, Booker T. Washington High School will welcome 48 students and three teachers from Rydings College in Zimbabwe for a week of science, technology, engineering and mathematics assignments. The international collaboration will help students develop a Wind Turbine and Water Quality/Filtration Systems Project under the instructional leadership of Dr. Nghia Le from Rydings College and Dr. Carlos Phillips, Principal of Booker T. Washington High School and The High School for Engineering Professions.
“This is a cultural and learning opportunity of a lifetime,” said Mayor Sylvester Turner. “The students will be able to research, design and build prototypes, and they will also work on presentation and technical writing skills.”
The highlights of the educational exchange include a formal welcoming of the students at Booker T. Washington High School located at 119 E. 39th Street, Houston, TX 77018 on March 21 at 8:30 a.m. and a dinner reception at the Sheraton Houston Brookhollow Hotel to discuss the value of the student learning experiences on Friday, March 24 at 6:00 p.m. The students will also visit several Houston locations including Space Center Houston, University of Houston, Kemah and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.”
“This monumental exchange of international collaborative learning will be used to enhance the educational learning of all students but most importantly, the way of life in Zimbabwe for years to come,” said Dr. Phillips.
Students will work in teams to research, design, build and test Vertical Axis Wind Turbines prototypes capable of producing 250 watts of power and a Water Filtration System capable of removing some undesirable components in water. They will also be tasked with using instruments to measure defined parameters quantitatively.
After the visit, a group of engineering students and teachers will accompany Dr. Phillips in November to Africa to continue the collaborative learning exchange.