Montco 360 students exhibit engineering talents in alternative energy competition

Eighteen Pottstown Middle School eighth graders in the Montco 360 program showcased functioning, alternative energy-producing machine prototypes before a panel of judges at Montgomery County Community College’s Pottstown Campus recently. 

Selected students in the Montco 360 program worked in teams to engineer working wind and water mills, which generated enough electricity to power an LED lightbulb. The program, a collaboration between the Pottstown School District and the College that launched in August 2024, provides hands-on learning experiences at the College focused on STEM— Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.

Students Aidan Branagh, Emma Campbell, Luke Carvalho, Noah Conbeer, Patrick Galamba, Ava Gulbish, Shylaj Hine, Arletta Hymann M'Bango, Hannah Jaycox, Isabella Johnson, Alexis Leidle, Jayden Mattis, Jahmai J. Molena Lorenzo, Dexter Running, Oliver Trout, Elizabeth Wasylkowski, Ronan White and Layla Williams spent more than two months fabricating their designs.

They used household items including paper cups, rubber bands, Styrofoam, cardboard and plastic straws and spoons. They also learned to use power tools like band and jig saws, a drill press and cordless drill/driver. They worked with the industry grade, computer-aided design program,  SolidWorks, to 3D print gears and pulley systems, while also developing skills in soldering and electrical wiring. Teams presented their final projects for review and gave brief demonstrations Jan. 13.

“I’m very impressed with the students,” said Andrew Bachman, a Pottstown math and engineering teacher who leads the program. “The opportunity to present in front of professionals and peers that are older but have been through the same process, that’s half the battle. I think they all did pretty well today.”

The panel of judges included Jake Gallaher, assistant controller at Dana, Aaron Laws, an MCCC and Pottstown alumnus and engineering intern at Dana, and Abdel Elgendy, Regina Fleming, Mehki Jenkins-Glover and Austin Sundstrom, Pottstown School District alumni. They evaluated each team based on criteria including design form, function, presentation content, slideshow, individual or group presentation skills, most focused team/team leader and team dynamics. Judges’ awards were given for individual efforts. The judges also spoke to students about how to successfully navigate high school and college.

Montco 360 aims to develop students’ critical thinking, problem-solving, communication, intrapersonal, interpersonal and other essential soft skills.

“These students received the top scores on standardized tests and benchmarks, which got them into the program,” said Bachman. “This program is designed to put them into a situation to challenge them. It challenges them socially, emotionally and academically. Students realize they may be smart, but they may have to work a little bit harder than they normally would to succeed. This program is designed to help them understand that now, as opposed to in high school or college.”

Students Shylaj Hine, Ronan White, Jayden Mattis and Oliver Trout said they learned a lot from the experience.

“Today was crazy,” said Hine. “I was scared but throughout my presentation when I saw the people and how focused they were on my presentation I was fine. This experience brought me out of my comfort zone, but it was good. Mr. Bachman helped me a lot.”

“It was the first time I presented to people I don’t know,” said White. “Presenting to them was a lot different to presenting to the people in that class. It’s easy when I present in front of people I know. When it’s people I don’t know, it becomes more of a challenge.”

“It was a good learning experience for me today,” said Mattis. “I think I learned a lot about going into high school and college after that. I think I definitely learned about presenting to people in general and to people in a larger group.”

“I learned that everything takes more than one try,” said Trout, who designed and presented a project by himself, “and it’s not always going to be perfect at the end. But what matters is that it works.”   

The judges were all very impressed with the work students put forth both in their designs and also in their presentations, they said.

“The overall performance of all the kids,” said Gallaher. “It’s really important for them to understand how to present. It’s good interaction for the kids and learning to speak in front of adults. It’s motivation going into college and even into high school. It eases their minds a little bit.”

“What stood out to me most was the maturity level of the kids,” said Laws, who’s studying at Drexel University. “To be in eighth grade and to be able to handle the equipment they’re handling, given the work load they’re given and just complete it, I’m very impressed with them and I hope they keep performing in groups like this.” 

Elgendy, a mechanical engineering student at Ursinus College who is transferring to Columbia University, said the most impressive thing about the event was the confidence on display among some of the students.

“How professional, thorough they were—you could tell they’ve really been in this world for a while and they’re thinking in a logical way,” he said. “Things are very organized in their minds and they’re able to articulate it out to a room of adults and not be so nervous. I’m sure most of them were nervous but they did super well.”

Jenkins-Glover, Fleming, and Sundstrom, engineering students at Lehigh University, agreed.

“Overall, they’re just very good presenters,” said Jenkins-Glover, a material science engineering major. “Very smart, very bright, very ahead of where I was when I was at their age. I think they’re setting themselves up very well by doing this.”

“This is an incredible program,” said Fleming, an electrical engineering major. “It’s something new. Not something we’ve all had the opportunity of taking advantage of, but I’m glad they have the opportunity. They put in a lot of effort today. They worked really hard on their projects. You could see it. They did a really good job executing and presenting it to us.”

“It’s definitely an amazing program,” said Sundstrom, a material science engineering major. “I did something similar in high school, and it helped me get into Lehigh, helped me get internships in high school. So, it’s definitely an amazing program and getting to start in middle school is even more amazing. It will help them get even further ahead by the time they get to high school, college and into their careers.”