'Kinetic Sculptures': A Centerpiece Project Integrated with Mathematics and Physics*

An integrated set of courses, or Integrated Course Block (ICB), developed for incoming first-year students at the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, is presented. Bound by a common theme of ‘Kinetic Sculptures’, the individual courses in this ICB are mathematics (single variable calculus and ordinary differential equations), physics (kinetics and dynamics of linear and rotational motion, thermodynamics and fluids), and an open-ended engineering project. The project part of the ICB allows students to explore the motion through the design of kinetic (moving) sculptures while utilizing the mathematics and physics concepts learned in the accompanying courses. This paper considers the ‘Kinetic Sculptures’ ICB from the pedagogical and epistemological points of view by presenting its implementation and discussing the results and analysis of three student surveys taken during three semesters, and seven semesters after participating in the ICB.