A Day in the Life: Engineers
November 10, 2020
The 7th graders have been spending time learning about the engineering design process. Throughout this unit we have learned about the steps that engineers take in order to design a new technology, material, or process, as well as the steps they take to improve existing technology. All of the items that we use on a daily basis have gone through this process, and continue to as we get updated versions of technology.
7th graders got a chance to step into the shoes of an engineer by designing a Model Bike Helmet with an egg as their subject. Students were given criteria and constraints of their project along with a list of materials they could use. Each group came up with 3 designs and then had to analyze which design would make the best prototype. After choosing their design to build they then had to build it to the exact specifications that were on their design, they could not add or take off any parts of the design. The next step was to test their models. This was done by dropping the egg from a height of 1.5 meters to see if their prototype was able to protect their egg. Everyone was excited to see if their egg would survive or go splat! Unfortunately, all of the eggs went splat. But, this gave us an opportunity to reevaluate our designs and come up with ideas how to make a better solution. These kids would make great engineers someday!
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