Project Days - Polytechnic Day (4 October 2021)

Upon arrival, the students were divided into smaller working groups (maximum of 6 students per group) so that they could attend all the individual seminars in turn. Each topic was assigned to one lecturer who introduced it both theoretically and practically. 

The first habitat was grinding and cutting of minerals. The aim was to show the different density and hardness of different working materials according to the principles of Mohs hardness scale. Each pupil could also try polishing on a polishing machine.

Another station was virtual modelling of products and machines on PC. In the introductory part, students were introduced to the basic capabilities of the Solid Edge CAD system. They then tried modelling simple parts themselves. Furthermore, the pupils learned basic information about the possibilities and use of 3D printing. The teacher showed them the procedure of processing models for printing, printer settings and printing itself. Each of the pupils took home a print sample from the school 3D printer (e.g. a simple model of a house, rocket, etc.).

Students also learned about the history of electricity production, basic properties of electronic components and the principles of circuitry. This was followed by a demonstration of electrochemical production and the use of a moving magnetic field. Finally, the pupils could try wiring simple circuits in the Voltík II kit and observe waveforms using oscilloscopes (e.g. with a multivibrator and other circuits generating waveforms to produce acoustic signals). 

The last station was photo editing on the computer. The teacher introduced the students to different image formats, with emphasis on the formats used for saving photos. The basic concepts of photography were discussed - shutter speed, aperture, depth of field, shooting modes, sensor size. Different graphic editors of raster images and their possibilities of use were also presented. In the practical part, students tried to adjust brightness, contrast and colour saturation, remove an object from a photograph and insert another one into it.