On Monday, our second day back to school, we were assigned a challenge- our first STEM challenge!
We were challenged to build the tallest tower we could with only one roll of tin foil. Our towers had to be freestanding, meaning they could not be supported by any other structure than the tin foil itself.
Before we began building, we had to refer to the Engineering Design Process. We are learning that this process will guide us from here on out as we become STEM learners.
As a class, we asked questions that were concerning to us about the challenge. We recorded our questions (as we would refer to them later on in our research). Next, each student imagined his/her own plan. "How will I build this?" "Where will I begin?" "How can I make the tallest tower?" "How will I make sure my tower stands successfully without falling?"
We also watched several clips from an Extreme Engineering episode in order to guide our engineering thinking.
https://youtu.be/fddZix7cNd4
https://youtu.be/fddZix7cNd4
Next, we were assigned to groups and began researching and creating.
When we were finished making improvements on Day 2, we shared our towers as a class. Each group received peer suggestions for improvements, as well as positive comments about their design.
Mrs. Phillips measured each tower and we recorded the height.
This team won the challenge; their tower stood the tallest at 45''.
Mrs. Phillips measured each tower and we recorded the height.
This team won the challenge; their tower stood the tallest at 45''.
In the end, we discovered that sometimes ideas we have in our head are harder than they seem to accomplish. We learned that it is important to make improvements if our projects aren't successful the first time we try them. We learned that if we aren't successful right away- IT'S OKAY! That's the fun in the Engineering Design Process.
To end our challenge, Kid President taught us a valuable lesson about how to be an inventor and what to remember if things just don't go as we planned.
To end our challenge, Kid President taught us a valuable lesson about how to be an inventor and what to remember if things just don't go as we planned.