Lessons and Activities
Remember how much fun we had as children when we were left to our own devices to
build the perfect invention? True, these escapades infuriated our parents when
the garage was left in ruins and we risked being grounded for using the
neighborhood kid as a crash dummy. But we were so elated when we built that
special box car racer. Little did we know that we were developing prototypes in
this process of play—we just had to make sure things worked the way we wanted
them to.
Now we can relive those experiences with our students. Here are some prototyping
activities that will spark your students' enthusiasm without creating too much
of a mess in the classroom. Students build prototypes to test designs—finally,
a crash-dummy test that won't get them into trouble! You and your students will
find these activities both thought-provoking and fun. |
Used with permission of the International
Technology Education Association (ITEA). |
Students design and test a strip of plastic chair webbing to explore the force
of tension and how it acts on structural components. They also investigate how
composite materials are created by bonding two or more materials to increase
the strength of the original material or to improve some other property.
Background notes include instructions for building the tensile test stations
and handouts help students develop their prototype lawn chairs. Notes also
provide factual information about forces and structures. MSP full record
Rube Goldberg is well known for his drawings of very complicated machines that
accomplish everyday tasks. In this activity, which can last from two to eight
class periods, students design and build a Rube Goldberg machine that can
complete a simple task in no fewer than 10 steps. Students work with prototypes
of simple machines, participate in the engineering design process, and explore
the five elements of a technology system: goal, inputs, processes, outputs, and
feedback. You'll find good background information on Goldberg's career and
influence, and there are directions to lead you and your students through the
investigation. A student worksheet and an assessment rubric are included. MSP full record
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Copyright
November 2004 — The Ohio State University. This material is based upon work
supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0424671. Any
opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this
material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of
the National Science Foundation.
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This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons License.
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