Happy Valentine’s Day! As we celebrate the holiday of giving one’s heart to another in love, indulge in a moment’s reflection on this amazing organ.
Last fall, we held an Engineering Saturday on the theme of Heart Valves. Jacob Ujhazy was the guest presenter for the event and prepared an incredible interview and fascinating conversation on heart valves with Dr. Conrad Zapanta, Associate Department Head and Teaching Professor and Carnegie Mellon University’s Biomedical Engineering Department.
Learners attending the workshop, inspired by the painstaking work of biomedical engineers went on to design, prototype, test and rebuild their own one way valves. Inspired by cardio thoracic surgeons they attempted to perform (virtual!) heart surgery.
Numerous engineering lesson plans exist to study heart valves. Try one out in your home lab!
EGFI
Teach Engineering
Try Engineering
UTAH Engineering
Univ of Washington
Our exploration of hearts doesn’t end with heart valves. Baden Academy is hosting the American Red Cross for a blood drive. A representative is scheduled to stop into classrooms and and help the students at Baden Academy begin to understand the steps in Blood Donation
And some beginning understandings of blood types and some basic facts on the need for blood (Did you know more than 41,000 blood donations are needed every day and just one single car accident victim can require as many as 100 pints of blood?)
I close with one of my favorite TED Talks. Watch and discover why Swedish citizens regularly agree to become organ donors and yet nearby neighbors in Denmark don’t.
