Outreach project introducing computer engineering to high school students

This paper presents an outreach program that targets students in high school. The program is designed to be fun, hands-on, and interactive, while introducing educational building blocks that will prepare students for careers in computer engineering. Key concepts introduced to students include logic design, hardwaresoftware interface, simple circuit design, robust design practices, and teamwork. An adaptation of the popular video game Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) is the platform on which this program is built. Teams of students construct dance pads from arts and crafts materials and aluminum foil. They also design and implement a scoring circuit based on Boolean logic, using logic gates on a solder-less breadboard. The scoring circuit is then interfaced with a preprogrammed micro controller and graphical user interface to complete the DDR design. Using DDR as a platform allows students to conquer several design challenges including building reliable dance pads and designing logic for a scoring circuit. The program was used three times during engineering summer camps hosted by the Minority Engineering Program and Women In Engineering Program at Purdue University in 2009. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from the students that participated.