SILVERDALE – High school students’ engineering and computing projects were on display as U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell visited Central Kitsap High School June 5.

Cantwell toured the school’s 3D modeling and animation classroom, an honors physical science classroom, and a material sciences lab. She also took part in a live, closed circuit student-led news broadcast and met with students, teachers and administrators to discuss STEM programs and school achievements.

In technology teacher James Adamson’s class, student Calvin Fischer showed Cantwell a 3D printed battery adapter that allowed an upgraded battery to be attached to a cordless electric drill that had previously used a different battery.

They also showed Cantwell robots they built that had photo sensors to detect a white boundary line on the ground and ultrasonic sensors that could detect objects. Each member of their group worked in a different field – such as mechanical, electrical wiring and computer programming – and collaborated as a team to build the robots.

Cantwell, right, speaks with CKHS seniors Kelly Schulz, second from left, and Alex Moore, third from left, during their advanced placement biology class. The girls were learning about the enzyme amylase which is present in saliva.

“He told me how he wired everything up and I then figured out how to make that work with the programming … so that it would see the white line (and) get away from the white line. It would also chase after this robot and try to chase it over the edge,” said student Daniel Allen.

The robot reminded Cantwell of the electric-powered BMW i3 automobile, which has the ability to park itself automatically.

“You don’t touch anything. You just press the button and it measures everything and it just goes into the parking space, similar to what you’re programming … not to go into certain spaces,” Cantwell said.

Another group, wearing red Skills USA jackets, told Cantwell about their computer networking and repair studies.

“My passion is for computer science,” said Caleb Wyllie, one of the students.

“I think it’s so important because it teaches you problem solving skills that are useful in any industry, not even just tech and because it gives opportunities to jobs,” Wyllie said.

Wyllie said he became interested in computer science after taking a class about it in the eighth grade. Wyllie said he has been working the past three years at Applied Technical Systems in Silverdale.

Cantwell, left, sits with KUGR student television anchor Lili Mayhook during KUGR’s Friday show at CKHS June 5. At right is floor director Alex Ellis.

“I’ve even led some research and development projects. The jobs are here. My friend is getting a job in Seattle after graduating from the University of Washington with Google and he’s starting at $100,000. So the jobs are here we just need the funding for the high school programs to train our students to learn computer science and all the other technical fields,” he said.

Cantwell replied, “We need about 300,000 computer scientists a year and we only graduate about 70,000 across the country. So we need more so thank you for joining the field.”

Other groups told Cantwell about a 3D-printed toy car they built. The car was powered by a rubber band and had 3D-printed gears to make it run. Another group showed Cantwell their plans for an emergency drinking water supply system that would solve the problem of water freshness by storing fresh water in a tank behind a clothes washing machine. Every time the washer was run, it would draw water from the storage tank, and the tank would then be refilled with fresh water.

Cantwell seemed impressed by the student’s work.

“Something tells me I wouldn’t find this kind of room in every high school,” she said. “You’re doing it right. The thing I can feel from each of these students is the passion. That’s what we’re looking for.”

CKSD board of directors president Bruce Richards said teachers such as Adamson put in a lot of extra work to make the technology programs run as smoothly as they do.

“Those kind of programs don’t just happen because you say, ‘Oh, let’s think about doing it.’ There’s a lot of sweat equity that those guys do,” Richards said.

Cantwell then visited Jim Washington’s materials science classroom.

“It’s really important to have lightweight materials in any kind of transportation whether it’s aerospace or automobiles. And our state is really – both with Boeing and BMW – working on this a lot. We have a plant over in Moses Lake that makes carbon fiber for what’s called the (BMW) i3 automobile.”

“We need you,” Cantwell told the students in the class.

Cantwell, center, poses for a selfie photograph with KUGR student television team members. Second from right is Lili Mayhook.

Cantwell meets with CKSD staff at CKHS June 5. From left is Tommy Bauer, state outreach director, Bruce Richards, president of the CKSD board of directors, David McVicker, CKSD superintendent of schools, Steve Coons, CKHS principal, Sen. Maria Cantwell and Franklyn McKenzie, CKSD director of secondary teaching and learning.