I have gotten some questions from early readers and editors whether it is reasonable for the student characters to ask some of the questions they ask and if the conversations are realistic. Most of the topics, conversations, and classroom dynamics are just like my typical days in the classroom. I teach engineering classes in Middle School for 7-8th graders where we built 2 go-karts. The kids had been building robots and other devices and seemed to be bored so I sat down one day and asked what they wanted to build, as long as it was legal. After first suggesting a flame-thrower, they proposed making a go-kart. We developed the design, budget, drive electronics, found parts online, assembled, and built 2 of them. One was 250 Watts and the second was 800 Watts, 36 VDC powerhouse that the kids figured out how to drift in the basketball courts.
In my High School classes we have built kinetic sculptures, clocks with wooden gears, robots, solar-powered boat, laser-pointing targeting devices, rockets, and more. I also welcome all questions about life, science, religion, and anything else, as long as it is being asked in a respectful way. I have been in the corporate engineering world longer than in the classroom so I tend to provide more real-world experiences, not ones in a workbook that function perfectly. We have real conversations about life. One interesting topic to discuss with smart kids is that in engineering we are always trying to bend the rules of physics to do certain things without bending the rules of morality, integrity, and character.
The video below is a victorious day celebrating the first successful test of a kinetic sculpture we built from Baltic birch plywood and a CNC router.