Calais School Upper School STEM class students recently learning about the theory of hydraulics.

Teacher Binal Shah taught students to build a model elevator which functioned using force and pressure. The students used syringes and tubing and the power of moving liquid to accomplish this. The students worked independently and with partners to assemble the parts, improvise, find solutions to problems, and make changes to plan as they continued to build on their projects, she said.

“Hydraulics is a mechanical function that that operates through the force of liquid pressure,” Mrs. Shah explained to her students. “In hydraulics-based systems, mechanical movement is produced by contained, pumped liquid, typically through cylinders moving pistons. Hydraulics is a component of mechatronics, which combines mechanical, electronics and software engineering in the designing and manufacturing of products and processes.”

Water pistols and cranes use the power of moving liquids in a very similar way, Mrs. Shah noted. “This technology is called hydraulics and it’s used to power everything from car brakes and garbage trucks to motorboat steering and garage jacks.”