Sussex Academy students dive into research project
Sussex Academy middle school students dove into their first expedition since the pandemic, with an exploration based on women who completed math research for the Army during World War II.
The exploratory kicked off May 28, with an assembly featuring filmmaker LeAnn Erickson, who directed the documentary “Top Secret Rosies: The Female Computers of WWII.” Erickson shared her discovery of the women’s story while working on another documentary.
The women were recruited to compute ballistic trajectories for the Army at the University of Pennsylvania’s Moore School of Electrical Engineering. The trajectories were then compiled into tables at the Army’s Aberdeen Proving Ground.
Six of the Top Secret Rosies went on to become the original programmers of one of the first computers, the ENIAC.
Students then worked throughout the week to create different research projects for a final showcase May 31, when they revealed their work that delved into the math, science, history and people of World War II.
Among the projects they created were marshmallow catapults, designed because the women computers had to compute trajectories, and weather balloons. Students researched little-known stories of women and facts from the war, and created propaganda posters promoting their school.
