Week 3 Day 3: Trip to the NYC Transit Museum

We learned a lot about trains today; maglev (magnetic levitation) trains, bullet trains, freight trains, pneumatic trains and commuter trains. If we were to play a game of which train does not belong in the group, it would be the maglev train. Maglev trains are trains that are suspended a few inches away from the tracks through the use of electromagnetic theory. We learned after a brief discussion, that they are capable of reaching top speeds of about 500 km per hour, which is equivalent to 311 miles per hour. The average intercity train in the United States has a top speed of about 80 miles per hour. Without touching the rails, maglev trains has fewer energy loss due to friction and is therefore more efficient. In a smart city, it is favorable to move people into and out of the city as quick as possible and this is possible through the use of magnetic levitation. 

During a tour at the NYC transit museum, we learned about AC/DC power and the various components of a commuter train through an interactive activity. 

Week 3 Day 1: Introduction to Traffic Engineering

Today we welcomed our students to the start of our 3rd week here at SOSC and to the transportation week. In the first two weeks of the program, we learned about various topics related to the energy system, food network and sustenance of a smart city. Every major city in America has problems related to traffic congestions. To help our smart city reduce or even eliminate congestion, we started off the day by discussing problems with our transportation network, from the students' experiences.

 (Clockwise from left) Mekhyi, Kayleen, Mohaimanul and Genesis painting the natural elements of our  smart city.

Later on in the day, we talked about the different elements of a city road; sidewalk, car lanes, bike lanes, crosswalks etc. and how the positioning of these different elements can potentially save lives and increase bike ridership. Instead of having bike lanes between the car lanes and parked cars, some cities are putting bike lanes between the sidewalk and the parked cars, reducing the potential for car-bike collisions and various other accidents.

Week 2 Day 5: Painting our Smart City

Last Friday, we built our power generation systems and drafted a layout of our city. Today, we continued where we left off last week and started painting our city. After learning about various topics this week concerning "food and sustenance" of a smart city , the Elusive Silver Tigers decided to put a farm on the outskirts of our city. The farm serves a dual purpose; to produce local food and to serve as a  composting station, allowing city dwellers to reduce the amount of organic waste that gets sent to the landfill. 

Celine and her team discussing about the possibility of using robot arms to collect household trash

Miya and her team experimenting with wind turbines

Our city has wind turbines near the coast to serve as a tourist attraction and to take advantage of the sea breeze. We split the class into three teams; Food and sustenance, Water and Energy. Each group had specific tasks and representatives were chosen to share and draft their ideas on a dry erase board. Our class accomplished a lot today; we began to paint the natural terrain of the city, decided on a power generation and electric storage system, built a wind powered building and a lego water desalination plant. Today marks the end of our second week of camp and a successful first half of the program. Next week's theme will be transportation and I look forward to sharing the knowledge I've obtained from my "Introduction to Traffic Engineering" class.

Week 2 Day 4: Trip to Added Value Farms, Red Hook, Brooklyn

When we asked our students what they think of when they hear the word farm. They conceive big open fields in the countryside surrounded by green fields. When we brought them to Added Value farms today, not only did they learn that local, seasonal and organic foods are very close to home but also it is possible to grow crops on a concrete foundation. Added Value is a non-profit organization that operates a farm in an old baseball field. They invite members of the community to their farm to turn their organic wastes into compost and at the same time, purchase some organic fruits and vegetables for dinner. 

(left to right) Giovanni, Sophia and Vicente pulling out weeds from the farm

Growing crops on top of concrete in an old baseball field is adding value to the crops this community eats. 

Later on in the day, the farmers invited us to help them pull out weed from one of their fields. Although it was hard work, many of the students I talked to had a better appreciation for the hard work our farmers do. This trip gave students and instructors a rare opportunity to learn about farming. In addition, it also helped reinforce a lot of the content we learned this week; companion planting, irrigation, seasonal foods, water supply systems, etc. Thank you Added Value! 

Week 2, Day 2: Farming Culture

I felt the need to blog about Tuesday's activities because the students seemed to particularly enjoy them. My fellow counselors and I have received nothing but positive feedback regarding Tuesday's topics, as is the case with just about the entire SoSC curriculum!

We first discussed the concepts of urban farming, companion planting, and mono-culture. We learned about the advantages and disadvantages of each, watched a few short videos, and discussed possible solutions to farming in the confined space of an urban environment. Personally, I think Tuesday's discussions were among the most successful and engaging thus far; the kids, all actively participating, seemed to agree!

The students built their own vertical growing systems today called window farms. They planted zinnia, daisy, and sunflower seeds. The system is arranged vertically so that only the top planter is watered. The excess water from the top planter can trickle down to the soil in the planters below. Water and nutrients that are not absorbed collect in a reservoir below and will be pumped through again at the next interval. This reinforces the concepts of both water conservation and plant nutrition.

Howard (left) and I (right) assist Eon, Mekhgi, and Andrew as they use a cheesecloth and funnel to remove solid particles from the organic pesticide they made from onions, garlic, and red hot chili.

In order to combat harmful pests such as slugs, bugs, mites, and worms, the students made several different natural pesticides. They learned about the differences between organic and chemical pesticides, including the immense environmental and health benefits of using all-natural ingredients. Despite the smell of onions and garlic, the students enjoyed "getting their hands dirty" to make salt water, soap water, and "hot and spicy" natural pesticides.

Now, we are all patiently waiting for the seeds to germinate! This week's lessons thus far will transition nicely into our very first field trip. Today we are going to Added Value, an agricultural facility right here in Brooklyn. I can't wait to see what they have in store for us!

Week 2 Day 3: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Today was filled with a wonderful blend of fun and learning. We started off the day learning about the importance of water, why film makers had coined it blue gold and the type of problems engineers have to think about when trying to secure freshwater for our communities. After learning that only 3% of all the water on earth are freshwater, Genesis asked how is it possible that a world can sustain itself with so little water. The answer was, 3% of a hundred might seem small but 3% of a trillion is a lot of water. However, the problem is real, the world is running out of fresh water and in our discussion today we talked about sustainability techniques, conservation techniques and technology that utilizes reverse osmosis to desalinate and turn ocean water into freshwater. It was a very engaging discussion today and students such as Dariela, Miya and Mekhgi shared their experiences with the class to further enhance our discussion.

Destiny from the Bionic A's, looking at a recycling chart to determine whether the object displayed in the front was recyclable. 

Science of Smart Cities group picture 

Later in the day, recycling experts from GrowNYC came to our camp and taught us why and how to recycle. Students learned that instead of sending all of our waste to the landfill and having to pay about $250 million a year to do it, recycling is better for the environment and can even generate income for the city. We were taught simple tips to decide whether an item is recyclable. For example, if a plastic container has a neck and the neck is smaller than its base, it can be recycled (a soda bottle can be recycled, a yogurt cup cannot). Today was a great learning experience for students and instructors, and most importantly we all had fun along the way. 

NYU-Poly's Practicing STEM Pros

One of the things that we have to offer our Science of Smart Cities students, and students around Brooklyn in NYU-Poly's STEM education programs, is the expertise of the University's faculty and students.  I want to acknowledge our colleague Dustyn Roberts, an accomplished engineer, Ph.D. candidate in Mechanical Engineering, and author of Making Things Move (a book about how to make robots).  Dustyn researches how to make robotic devices more energy efficient by mimicking natural movements.  She talked with students about her research, and how energy will be used to land the latest Rover on its way to Mars.  Dustyn designed one of its most important scientific components, and needless to say students (and instructors!) were impressed.