On Tuesday, March 2, 2010, students from the College Access Program at Benjamin Franklin High School and students from University City High School and George Washington Carver High School for Engineering and Science received all-star treatment as they spent the morning learning about careers within the science, technology, engineering, and math fields while touring Citizens Bank Park.
Upon arrival, students, teachers, and chaperones were greeted by Eric Flicker, Pennoni Associates Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, who served as emcee for the event. Other speakers included:
- Joanne Ferroni, Director of Outreach & Development for the College of Engineering, Drexel University
- Lowell Thomas, Senior Policy Manager, Governor’s Policy Office, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
- Joe Giles, Director of Business Development for the Phillies
- Jared Loos, Director of Operations, Ewing Cole
After viewing a video about the construction of Citizens Bank Park, student groups were paired with engineers from Pennoni Associates, and Ewing Cole as well as young engineers from Drexel University, and taken on a guided tour of the stadium.
While touring the facilities, students learned interesting engineering facts about the stadium, including how the drainage system on the field works and how extensive research helped determine the approximate angle of each stadium light. Students were also given the opportunity to talk one-on-one with engineers and ask questions about the five different types of engineering and how they contributed to the construction of the stadium.
And no visit to Citizens Bank Park would be complete without a little Philadelphia Phillies history! Students were tested on Phillies trivia, learned about former and current Phillies, and even had a chance to visit the press box of legendary announcer Harry Kalas and the Phillies locker room!
This event, hosted by the Philadelphia Math + Science Coalition, gave students a greater understanding and appreciation of the engineering field. A special thanks to the event's co sponosors:
Drexel University College of Engineering
Engineers' Club of Philadelphia
Ewing Cole
Pennoni Associates, Inc.
> View photographs of the event
Photos Courtesy of Team Pennsylvania Foundation
