Challenge
Imagine during your cruise vacation you stopped on a deserted island to take in all of nature’s beauty. While you were enthralled by the untouched island, the cruise ship leaves! Now, you are only left with your cell phone and some random materials. Your cell phone doesn’t work at all on this island, but you know from a previous stop there is another deserted island where there is plenty of service. It is a short distance away and an easy swim, but how will you get there without damaging your cellphone? Your challenge is to build a contraption that will be able to float behind you while you swim to the other island. Your cell phone raft does have some criteria and constraints. The raft has to be tied to your body so make sure to include it into your design. You can’t hold the contraption or the phone above your head since you need that arm to swim! Your phone needs to stay completely dry for fear of not working at all. Only the materials provided can be used in your design. While testing out the device, it can be pulled by the string from one end of the water to the other at a moderate pace. Materials
Hints and Tips for Success
0 Comments
Challenge
Did you or are you going to visit an amusement park this summer? What is your favorite ride there: ferris wheel, merry-go-round, water slides, roller coaster, or other? A roller coaster seems to be a crowd favorite with all of the twists, turns, being upside down, downhill speed, and loop-da-loops! Have you ever thought about trying to design a sample roller coaster? This month’s challenge has you experimenting with materials to create a model roller coaster and experiencing the different attributes they have in order to work properly. Your challenge is to use the materials to make a roller coaster that has the passengers (a marble) going from the start to the finish in a slow manner, a fast manner, over a small hill, over a big hill, over two hills, through a loop-da-loop, through two loop-da-loops, and more of your choosing. You can approach this challenge in a few different ways with different materials, but one way is to use foam pipe insulation, a large marble, masking tape, and a plastic/paper/foam cup. Cut the foam pipe insulation in half on its side to create the track for the marble. Tape multiple tracks together to make it longer and to adhere it to the different surfaces. Tape the cup at the end of track so the marble stops inside instead of rolling all over. Now your ready to start the challenges! Materials
Hints and Tips for Success
Challenge Now that it is officially summer, it’s time to play outdoors! Where else to play outside but the playground where hopefully you can find some slides to go down. Have you ever noticed if all the slides were the same or made of different material? Have you ever wondered why one day you went down the slide really fast, but the next day you might have gone really slow? How can this be? This month’s challenge will hopefully help you find out, and maybe even let you know a way to zoom down the slides faster. Your challenge is to find out which material works best to slide down the slides at the playground. Remember, each slide could be different and have a different solution. So make sure to conduct the challenge on each slide! You can approach this challenge in two different ways, but always make sure both ways are approached in a safe manner. One way to conduct this challenge is to create your own mat to sit on to go down the slide using different materials. Another way could be to change the types of clothes you’re wearing on your legs. To find out how to get down the slide fastest, have a partner time you at the beginning of your descent and stop the time when your feet touch the ground at the bottom of the slide. Good luck! Materials
Hints and Tips for Success
Challenge
All pollinators visit flowers to get something out of them for themselves. This may be nectar, pollen, or both. During the visit, pollen lands on their body. Bumble bees, as well as other bee-like insects, have special structures on their bodies in which they store the pollen they have collected. I wonder how many pollinators can land on a flower before it tips over? Your challenge is to find out by creating and designing a model! The task is to design a prototype flower that will hold the most pollinators using paper plates, cardboard tubes, and scissors. Once you've built your flower prototype, you can test it out by placing marbles on it one at a time. Try to get the most marbles on the model before it topples over. Your flower model design does have some criteria and constraints. Tape cannot be used at all. Only one paper plate is allowed per model. The marbles have to be placed one at time and more can’t be added until the marbles show no motion. The plate and tube can be altered, but the tube cannot be made shorter than its standard height. Marbles cannot be placed down the cardboard tube, unless if they remain on top of the plate inside the tube. You and your group should try to design a flower following these guidelines that holds the most pollinators. Materials
Hints and Tips for Success
Challenge
Did you know early sailors used to wear life jackets made from cork? In later years, they started using a vegetable silk instead! The vegetable silk, kapok, is very similar to cotton. It became the standard for making life jackets. Then, due to war, the military developed an inflatable type of life jacket. The inflatable life jackets are still used today. Eventually, kapok was replaced by technological means when synthetic foam was created. This new means of design allowed the life jackets to be more flexible and the designers to create a variation of life jackets that we currently see today. With the weather getting nicer, swimming will become more prevalent and little children need to stay safe around the water. Life jackets are the easiest way to do this! For some reason, all the life jackets have disappeared at the community pool. The lifeguard won’t let you OR your baby sibling in unless you both have life jackets. Well, why not design your own? Your challenge is to create a prototype life jacket out of the provided materials to help a plastic doll float. Your design does have some criteria and constraints. The life jacket can only be made using the foam pieces and rubber bands. The life jacket should resemble more of a life jacket than a boat object. Finally, and most importantly, however the plastic doll is dropped in the water with its life jacket (head first, feet first, on its side, etc), the doll’s face must return to the top of the water and be sticking out in order to breathe! No doll’s face should be submerged in the water in any way. Materials
Hints and Tips for Success
Challenge
The average yearly rainfall in New York State is about 46 inches. To measure rainfall, meteorologists use instruments called rain gauges. They are usually a transparent cylinder with measurement markings in inches or millimeters placed outside. Rain gauges collect the precipitation for a given amount of time in the area to let you know how much rainfall there was. There is rainfall about 120 days out of the year in New York State. It’s always advised to prepare yourself for this type of weather. There are many great preparations one can take. One easy thing to do is always have an umbrella handy. Don’t have an umbrella? Well, why not design your own? Your challenge is to build an umbrella out of the provided materials to protect an area from getting wet. Your design does have some criteria and constraints. The umbrella has to be large enough to protect a circle area with about a 5” diameter. The umbrella prototype should be at least 12” tall. There can only be one support beam for the umbrella to stand on its own. There can be “feet” on the bottom of the umbrella to help it stand if needed. The umbrella must endure a rainfall of about 2 cups of water without getting any rain on the specified area. Finally, the umbrella cannot be adhered in any way to the base. Materials
Hints and Tips for Success
Challenge
Did you know there was a period of mass starvation, disease, and emigration in Ireland between 1845 and 1852 all caused by potatoes? This period of time is referred to as the Irish Potato Famine. Nearly two-fifths of the population was dependent on this crop year-round for food. The cause of the crops being destroyed was the potato blight, which makes the plants wither and decay. Approximately two million lives were altered in Ireland all due to the potato. What else could be done with potatoes? Do you think you could make a light bulb shine by using the potatoes as a battery? That is exactly your task! Using the potatoes and other materials, create a circuit to make a LED light up. Materials
Hints and Tips for Success
Challenge
A standard piece of paper is 11” in length and 8” in width. But is that the longest length a single piece of paper can be if modified? What if you bend or rip the paper? Can you make it a longer than 11" without making multiple pieces? The single piece of paper must stay as one connected whole. Your job is to find out how long you can make a single piece of paper. Once you've created the longest piece of paper with your group, you can measure it using the appropriate tool. Your longest piece of paper design does have some criteria and constraints. You will only get one piece of paper. If your paper becomes two pieces, the group should choose one of those pieces to continue the task. All changing of the paper must be done without any cutting tools. You and your group should try to design and create the longest single piece of paper following these guidelines. Materials
Hints and Tips for Success
Challenge
Did you know snowflakes generally are hexagonal structures because of the chemical bonding that occurs within the water as it freezes? or that each snowflake is unique? Do you know what kind of snowflake falls the fastest or slowest through the air? Your job is to find out this last question! The task is to design a prototype snowflake using paper and scissors. Once you've built your snowflake prototype, you can test it out by dropping it from different heights and using a stopwatch to time which design falls the fastest or slowest. Your snowflake design does have some criteria and constraints. Every snowflake created has to be from the same origami template (see step-by-step instructions with pictures here: http://www.origamiway.com/how-to-make-paper-snowflakes.shtml). There has to be a 1cm border on the top and bottom that cannot be cut. At least three areas have to be cut out from the template. The snowflake should be dropped from the same height every time, held open with two hands, and held horizontal (flat) to the floor for fair trials. You and your group should try to design a snowflake following these guidelines that falls the fastest or slowest. Materials
Hints and Tips for Success
Challenge
It’s that time of year again to shop for toys. The toy store, Spinz, is searching of toy developers to create the best spinning top toy to be able to sell this year. They would like the toy developer to design a top that spins for a long period of time and looks visually pleasing to kids. They have sent an invitation out to the public looking for help. Spinz would like you to build a prototype using brass fasteners, pipe cleaners, paperclips, index cards, toothpicks, popsicle sticks, masking tape, and glue. Use any coloring or decorating media needed to make your top visually pleasing. Once you've built your best top toy, tested it for its ability to spin a long time, and decorated it, Spinz will want to hear all about it and see it in action. Materials
Hints and Tips for Success
Challenge
For Thanksgiving this year, your family decided to go back to basics and cook the turkey over a fire. The problem is they don't have a contraption to put the turkey on over the fire! Your family wants you to build a prototype using only straws, yarn, and masking tape. Once you've built the strongest prototype, your family will know which design will work best and be able to copy it using the proper materials. Your design does have some criteria and constraints. The contraption has to be built to place over the fire by touching the ground. The fire ring for the prototype is about the size of the bottom of a water bottle. The prototype must be wide enough to fit on the outside of the fire ring without touching it. Your design has to have a height of at least six inches. You and your group should try to design a technology following these guidelines that holds the most weight. Materials
Hints and Tips for Success
Challenge
Student groups have to build a launcher with the materials given to fling a plastic cube. They do not have to use all of the materials but must use at least 4 items. The plastic cube must completely be launched by the contraption, not by any human force. Students should try to get the cube to launch the farthest distance. Materials
Hints and Tips
Challenge
Student groups have to build the tallest tower with paper plates. Groups cannot cut with scissors or tape the plates together or down to the surface. Groups can manipulate the plates any other way they would like to. Additional plates will not be given to groups after they may have altered them. Materials
Hints and Tips for Success
|