Background Information: In this experiment, you are going to put

your problem solving skills to action! You

will design a device to sort coins.

Materials Needed: • Jar of Coins • Paper • Shoeboxes or Other

Cardboard Boxes • Construction Paper • Cardboad Tubes

• String • Masking Tape • Scissors • Sharpened Pencils

Process:

q Sketch your design ideas on paper before you begin

building. Think about the problem you are trying to

solve. Consider the different ways you could sort coins

The St. Louis American’s award winning NIE program provides

newspapers and resources to more than 7,000 teachers and

students each week throughout the school year, at no charge.

African-American Aerospace Engineer Chris Miller

Meet Chris Miller, a St. Louis

native who grew up watching

the skies. Miller’s love of flight

came naturally. His father was

an airline operations manager

at Lambert airport. Miller

always was fascinated by

airplanes and wanted to know

how they worked. When he was

allowed to go to work with his

father, it was definitely a thrill!

In fourth grade, Miller had

an inspirational teacher—Ms. Whittaker—whose husband

worked for Boeing. She saw a talent and drive in Miller

and encouraged him to take advanced mathematics. With

family and teachers supporting him, Miller was encouraged

to pursue his goals. After graduating from Hazelwood

Central, Miller went to Tuskegee University in Alabama to

earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Science-

Engineering. Next, Miller earned a Master of Business

Administration from Webster University in St. Louis.

He became active in an organization called INROADS, whose

mission is to develop and place talented underserved youth

in business and industry, and prepare them for corporate

and community leadership. Miller interned at Boeing and his

talent and hard work were noticed. In fact, his performance

reviews earned him the prestigious award of INROAD’s

Intern of the Year. Miller has worked at Boeing for 10 years

as an F-15 International Suite Technical Integrator. Miller

leads mission systems developments on the F-15 aircraft,

coordinating with international operators around the world.

He feels pride and satisfaction in seeing his work efforts as

the F-15 travels around the world. However, it’s not an easy

task. Miller’s job involves very intricate problem solving.

He has to make sure all the parts come together just right.

To do so, he needs to understand how one change in the

aircraft will affect the rest of the system. For example, if

someone wants an aircraft to travel at 500 mph, he must

determine how to reach that goal. This goal will impact the

engine, fuel, and much more.

While speaking as an alumni at an INROADS banquet, Miller

was complimented from a gentleman in the audience who

noted that it was rare to see an African-American aerospace

engineer. This conversation inspired Miller to write about

his experiences. As Miller worked to find the ideal format

and audience, he chose to write a children’s book called,

“Daddy, How Do Planes Fly?” He believed that a children’s

book would be a good way to pique an interest in flight.

This book could be used in classrooms to reach a variety

of students. Miller offers the following advice to young

students, “Don’t shy away from things that challenge you.

Taking the easier road may get you there faster, but you lose

many valuable lessons. Work to develop math and science

skills which will open you up to many different careers.

Develop your critical thinking skills.”

To learn more about INROADS, visit: http://www.inroads.org/.

To order Miller’s book, visit: http://www.

pubgraphicsdirect.com/books/daddy-how-do-planes-fly/

Learning Standards: I can read a biography about a

person who has made a contribution in the fields of science,

technology, engineering, and math.

Teachers, if you are using the St. Louis American’s NIE program and would like to nominate your class for a Classroom Spotlight, please email: nie@stlamerican.com.

SCIENCE CORNER

CLASSROOM SPOTLIGHT SCIENCE STARS

MATH CONNECTION

Types of Engineers

MAP CORNER Enjoy these activities that help you

get to know your St. Louis American

newspaper.

Activity One — Abbreviations:

What is an abbreviation? Locate

5-10 abbreviations in the newspaper

and write out the full word they

represent.

Activity Two — Range, Mean, and Median: Use

the newspaper to find 10 different

numbers. Arrange these numbers from

least to greatest. What is the range

of numbers? What is the mean (the

average) of the numbers? What is the

median (the number that is in the

middle)?

Learning Standards: I can use

the newspaper to locate information.

I can add, subtract, multiply, and

divide to solve a problem. I can make

text to self connections.

The following word problems will challenge you to think

critically. Read the problem carefully, find a solution, and

check your answer.

z Julian bought 9 packages of cat food and 5 packages of

dog food. Each package of cat food contained 5 cans, and

each package of dog food contained 4 cans. How many more

cans of cat food than dog food did Julian buy? ________

x Kiana needs 76 paper plates for a birthday party. She

already has 35 blue plates and 10 red plates. How many

more plates should Kiana buy? ________

c Brandon wants to ride the bumper cars 4 times and the

Ferris wheel 3 times. It costs 3 tickets to ride the bumper

cars and 2 tickets to ride the Ferris wheel. How many tickets

does Brandon need? ________

Learning Standards: I can add, subtract, multiply, and

divide to solve a problem.

Did you know there are many

types of engineers? Check out the

list below.

AEROSPACE ENGINEERS work

with various aircraft, spacecraft, and

satellites.

BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERS

design products for patient and

medical care.

CHEMICAL ENGINEERS work with the chemical process in

food, fuel, medicine, make-up, and much more.

CIVIL ENGINEERS design and maintain the safety of bridges,

buildings, roads, and other large structures.

COMPUTER ENGINEERS work with computer hardware and

software.

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS work with various forms of

electricity, for example robotics and medical imaging.

ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERS specialize in natural

resources, pollution, air quality, etc.

MECHANICAL ENGINEERS focus on

mechanical systems and machines. They

must also understand heat transfer and

fluid mechanics.

NUCLEAR ENGINEERS work to solve

problems related to nuclear weapons

and radiation hazards.

Although there are many types of engineers, all engineers

are critical thinkers and they must be good problem solvers.

To learn more about types of engineers, visit: http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/engineering/

typesofengineeringjobs.html.

Learning Standards: I can read nonfiction text for main idea and supporting

detail. I can make text to world and text to text

connections.

SCIENCE EXPERIMENT

Fairview Elementary

School 6th grade

teacher, Latasha

Harvey-Smith, uses a

math exercise from the newspaper

with students Ariel Ruffin, Kayla

Thomas, Xavier Galloway, and

Darrion Welden as a STEM lesson.

Fairview Elementary is in the

Jennings School District. Photo by

Wiley Price/St. Louis American

Make a Coin Sorter!

Converting Weights!

like by weight, size, sliding ability, or shape. Remember,

you will make your coin sorter using just cardboard

boxes, paper, tape, cardboard tubes and string.

w Once you decide on a design, begin building. Do you

have to change your design as you build? Why? What

challenges do you face as you build that you didn’t

think about when you were sketching your design?

e Test your design. What changes did you make? Did your

design changes solve the problem? Analyze your results

and compare your design with your classmates.

Learning Standards: I can follow directions to complete

an experiment. I can analyze results.

DID YOU KNOW?

Airships and blimps are lighter than air and use buoyancy

for flight. They are typically filled with gas that is less

dense than the surrounding atmosphere, such as helium.

Helium is used in balloons to keep them in the air.

It would take a plane

flying 400.2 miles per

hour 20 years to fly the

93,205,678.8 miles from the Earth to the Sun.

The flight data recorders in airplanes are called “black

boxes,” although they are really bright orange.

The longest paper

airplane flight was

27.6 seconds.