Creating a structure to keep a rocket ship safe from the winds of a hurricane takes a place to investigate, explore and create! Heritage Heights Elementary is creating such a place for students. A collaboration between library teacher Leanne Zlotek, math coach Frank LiCausi, and art teacher Tracy Langlotz has worked to develop a Maker Space and STEAM (Science Technology, Engineering, ART, and Mathematics) Lab within the library space. Amazing projects happen here that engage students in creative problem solving as they complete Engineering Design Challenges. When I am in a teaching cycle at Heritage Heights, I am privileged to join this team and connect the learning to science units!
During the last cycle we spent time developing an engineering design project for 2nd grade that extended the learning of their matter unit. The project's work also set ground work for the upcoming work on how the wind can change the land. First students engaged in an investigation to answer the question, "What can the wind move?"
Students tested a variety of objects and classified them as to whether or not our table top fan would move them. Students asked great questions, and determined that sometimes it depended on the surface we rolled them across, or the orientation of the object itself. Students saw patterns to what the wind moved, noting the materials and relative weight of the object.
During the course of this EDP (Engineering Design Process) we continually anchored the work to The 3 Little Pigs. We wanted students to conclude the materials we use to create objects serve a purpose.
Then it was time to use The 3 Little Pigs for another experiment. Students used popcorn to represent the straw house, popcorn connected with toothpicks to represent the stick house, and popcorn connected with toothpicks to an apple slice (serving as foundation) to test how far the wolf was able to blow each house. They recorded and analyzed data along the way. Then drew conclusions about why the materials acted the way they did when the wolf came along.
After we discussed our findings it was time to learn how engineers use this information when they design buildings. We looked at the NASA Vehicle Assembly Building and maps of Florida, including wind speed maps to study how NASA protects the rockets when hurricanes strike. Finally, students were issued their own challenge...Design a building that will protect their rocket from the wind. Students got to work in teams, using the criteria provided, to design a building that would provide enough structure and support to protect their rocket from the high winds provided by our fans to simulate a hurricane. After students finish building, they will have the opportunity to test, reflect, and redesign their buildings. These young engineers came up with some creative designs really focusing on protecting the rocket! I can wait to see the testing results!
The lessons for The 3 Little Pigs were taken from Three Little Pigs 2.0 -An Engineering Design Challenge from CPALMS at www.cpalms.org