STEM Maker Challenges
maker_challenges_elearning_19-20.pdf | |
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For Maker Challenges before Spring Break, click the above PDF file.
Apple Raft
You’re trapped on an island with nothing but apples and toothpicks! Construct a floating raft that will help you sail home.
Materials:
* Apples sliced into chunks
* Toothpicks
* Small tub or bucket of water
* Umbrella picks (optional)
Vocabulary:
raft: a floating platform made of materials that are fastened together
buoyant: able to float or rise in a liquid
balance: even distribution of weight
drift: to be carried slowly by a current of air or water
Instructions:
1. Can you construct a floating raft out of apples and toothpicks?
2. Design first: Think about the shape of the raft you want to make. What will be the best shape to use? How big or small do you think the apples need to be? How many apples will you need to use? Do apples float?
3. After you've thought about your design, attach the toothpicks to the apples based on your design.
4. Test it out! Put your apple raft in water. What happens?
April 27 - May 1: Design a Hammock
Vocabulary:
tension: the pulling force on a string or cable. The opposite of tension is compression, which is the force of pushing together.
support: something that holds up or bears the weight of something else.
deflection: how much something is displaced/how much it moves when it is subjected to a load.
factor of safety: how much stronger something is than it needs to be. If you expect the
hammock needs to be able to hold 300 pounds, but it doesn't break until it is holding 600 pounds, the factor of safety is 2.
distributed load: in contrast to where all the force is applied at one point, a distributed load is spread out over an area.
Choose materials: felt, tablecloths, and plastic bags for the hammock
material are good options. You could also request that they try to weave
the hammock out of yarn, or if you have any students that have done
finger knitting, this would be a fun implementation of that. You will also
need to attach string or wire, and have materials for a stand. They may
want to make an A-frame out of craft sticks or pencils, or use cardboard
Tubes.
Test it! Make sure that the hammock can support the weight and that the
object doesn't fall out.
Make it more challenging. Require that the hammock must not tip over or
lose the object when the hammock swings 20° from center.
April 20-24: Challenging Maze
design: To plan/draw the look and function of a system.
tolerance: The allowable amount of variation in the dimension.
dimension: The measurable amount in one direction.
fabrication: The process of manufacturing something.
objective: The goal.
Choose materials: shoebox/cardboard box and play-doh or modeling clay is a fast an easy choice, but try out other materials such as paper towel rolls with holes cut in the sides or even building bricks!
Test it! Have your students try each maze that has been created and record their time. See who got the fastest time on each maze, and which maze was the hardest! Make it more challenging: Create a 3-D maze, or one where the marble isn't visible the whole way through! In the image with the cardboard tubes above, you can't see the marble when it is in each tube, but you can see it in between the tubes. An even more challenging maze relies on both listening skills to hear where the marble is and possibly feeling the vibrations as it travels through the tubes
April 13-17th: Tallest Tower
tower: A tall, narrow structure.
foundation: A structure at the base of a building that provides support.
rigidity: The stiffness that allows a structure to resist bending, buckling, or twisting.
collapse: To fall or give way.
height: The measurement from the base to the top.
materials: craft sticks, pipe cleaners (this is a challenging one!), paper or plastic cups (easier), wooden planks/dominoes, building blocks, or biodegradable packing peanuts.
Set the timer! Adding a 5-minute time constraint really changes the way the students approach the problem.
Measure it! Make sure you have your students accurately measure how tall their tower is. You can plot them all on a bar graph afterward and compare.
Make it more challenging: reduce the time even more, or if you are able – have your students do this one with their eyes closed!
April 3rd: Design a Greeting Card for Medical Staff
Vocabulary:
Greeting: a polite word or welcome, a thank you
Materials:
paper, cardstock, construction paper, markers, crayons, colored pencils, stickers
Instructions:
Apple Raft
You’re trapped on an island with nothing but apples and toothpicks! Construct a floating raft that will help you sail home.
Materials:
* Apples sliced into chunks
* Toothpicks
* Small tub or bucket of water
* Umbrella picks (optional)
Vocabulary:
raft: a floating platform made of materials that are fastened together
buoyant: able to float or rise in a liquid
balance: even distribution of weight
drift: to be carried slowly by a current of air or water
Instructions:
1. Can you construct a floating raft out of apples and toothpicks?
2. Design first: Think about the shape of the raft you want to make. What will be the best shape to use? How big or small do you think the apples need to be? How many apples will you need to use? Do apples float?
3. After you've thought about your design, attach the toothpicks to the apples based on your design.
4. Test it out! Put your apple raft in water. What happens?
April 27 - May 1: Design a Hammock
Vocabulary:
tension: the pulling force on a string or cable. The opposite of tension is compression, which is the force of pushing together.
support: something that holds up or bears the weight of something else.
deflection: how much something is displaced/how much it moves when it is subjected to a load.
factor of safety: how much stronger something is than it needs to be. If you expect the
hammock needs to be able to hold 300 pounds, but it doesn't break until it is holding 600 pounds, the factor of safety is 2.
distributed load: in contrast to where all the force is applied at one point, a distributed load is spread out over an area.
Choose materials: felt, tablecloths, and plastic bags for the hammock
material are good options. You could also request that they try to weave
the hammock out of yarn, or if you have any students that have done
finger knitting, this would be a fun implementation of that. You will also
need to attach string or wire, and have materials for a stand. They may
want to make an A-frame out of craft sticks or pencils, or use cardboard
Tubes.
Test it! Make sure that the hammock can support the weight and that the
object doesn't fall out.
Make it more challenging. Require that the hammock must not tip over or
lose the object when the hammock swings 20° from center.
April 20-24: Challenging Maze
design: To plan/draw the look and function of a system.
tolerance: The allowable amount of variation in the dimension.
dimension: The measurable amount in one direction.
fabrication: The process of manufacturing something.
objective: The goal.
Choose materials: shoebox/cardboard box and play-doh or modeling clay is a fast an easy choice, but try out other materials such as paper towel rolls with holes cut in the sides or even building bricks!
Test it! Have your students try each maze that has been created and record their time. See who got the fastest time on each maze, and which maze was the hardest! Make it more challenging: Create a 3-D maze, or one where the marble isn't visible the whole way through! In the image with the cardboard tubes above, you can't see the marble when it is in each tube, but you can see it in between the tubes. An even more challenging maze relies on both listening skills to hear where the marble is and possibly feeling the vibrations as it travels through the tubes
April 13-17th: Tallest Tower
tower: A tall, narrow structure.
foundation: A structure at the base of a building that provides support.
rigidity: The stiffness that allows a structure to resist bending, buckling, or twisting.
collapse: To fall or give way.
height: The measurement from the base to the top.
materials: craft sticks, pipe cleaners (this is a challenging one!), paper or plastic cups (easier), wooden planks/dominoes, building blocks, or biodegradable packing peanuts.
Set the timer! Adding a 5-minute time constraint really changes the way the students approach the problem.
Measure it! Make sure you have your students accurately measure how tall their tower is. You can plot them all on a bar graph afterward and compare.
Make it more challenging: reduce the time even more, or if you are able – have your students do this one with their eyes closed!
April 3rd: Design a Greeting Card for Medical Staff
Vocabulary:
Greeting: a polite word or welcome, a thank you
Materials:
paper, cardstock, construction paper, markers, crayons, colored pencils, stickers
Instructions:
- Make a thank you card for the medical staff (nurses, aides, doctors, patients, etc.) at the hospital St. Francis Hospital. One of our Dawes parents works at St. Francis and would like to deliver cards to the medical staff workers. She will place a water proof bin outside her yard for families to drop it off. She would pass out these thank you cards upon returning to work!
- What: Thank You Cards for Medical Staff at St. Francis Hospital
- Who: Students
- Drop Off Location: 1617 South Blvd