RescuShell
Target Age Group
Grades 9 – 12Time to Complete
~ 18 hoursClass Size
25+ studentsRescuShell is a virtual internship in which students play the role of interns in a fictitious mechnical engineering design firm.
In RescuShell, students design the bottom half of an exoskeleton suit for rescue workers. With access to resources such as internal technical documents, background research, and realistic research reports, students learn about the inputs involved in designing exoskeletons. Using an internal design space, students develop and test design hypotheses. In addition to the design constraints, students must also balance the competing requests of a number of internal consultants who each have a stake in the outcome of the prototypes.
Students use an online platform, called WorkPro, to complete all activities in the internship, except for a final in-person presentation. WorkPro’s built-in email and chat features facilitate virtual communication with teammates and a Design Advisor. Throughout the internship students record and reflect on their activities in an engineering notebook, which get submitted for assessment by their Supervisor.
After receiving all background information and technical reports concerning the design of a hemodialysis membrane, students use an internal tool to design their own devices, choosing from a number of options for each inputs. Students submit batches of five devices with justifications for each design choice. They receive feedback on their device performance, and complete three iterations of the process before choosing a final device with their team. During the last days of the internship, students work with their teammates to create and give presentations justifying their final prototype design selections.