DesignWork in pairs to design and build the tallest free-standing structure possible. Experiment with various shapes.

TestWhich tower is stronger – one made of triangles or one made of rectangles? You may wish to perform tornado and earthquake tests to determine each structure’s resistance to these natural “disasters.” Have the students blow on or jostle their building.What do they notice about the strongest part?

Re-DesignOnce the students have found the strongest part of their building, let them change their building so that the entire structure is stronger.

Small Pig Brothers Construction Company vs. B.B. Wolf Demolition Inc. Design: As pigs, the students can:• Construct three houses.• Design a “For Sale” sign that tells prospective

buyers about the attributes of their house.

Test: As wolves, the students can:• Design and carry out tests to knock down the homes using wind power.

Could you design other methods of demolition? How about a wrecking ball?• Prepare a fact sheet to give advice to prospective house wreckers.

Re-DesignAs a class, discuss which buildings best withstood the wolf’s demolition. How would students build their home if they were to build it again?

K–2 FLIER

Materials (per student or team)

Pig 1:• straw• tape• scissors

Pig 2:• twigs• wood glue

Pig 3:• modeling clay• sculpting tools

Wolf:• hair dryer

Dear Teacher,

Thank you for having the Engineering van visit your school. We hope you enjoyed investigating engineering with your students

during this Science On Wheels experience. This flier is intended to help continue the enthusiasm generated by our visit and

extend your students’ learning.

The following activities have been selected because they encourage creativity and problem-solving skills, both important

components in engineering. Please feel free to adapt them to suit your needs. The one page insert is written for your stu-

dents, with activities you may choose to do as a class, or copy for home use.

Thank you again for having the Engineering van visit your classroom and remember, have fun!

~Science On Wheels Teachers

Materials (per student or team)

• toothpicks• gumdrops or small

marshmallows

Blow My House Down

Toothpick Towers

Here are some of the titles you might wish to add to your classroom library or your own professional library:

Underground, by David Macaulay, 1983

Bridges, by Etta Kaner and Pat Cupples, 1995

Inventioneering, Nurturing Intellectual Talent in the Classroom, by Bob Stanish and Carol Singletary, 1987

Science for All Cultures, compiled by Shelley J. Carey, 1993

Janice VanCleave’s Engineering for Every Kid: Easy Activities That Make Learning Science Fun, by Janice VanCleave, 2007

Science On Wheels Staff Teresa Demel

Nikki LynnKate Bedient

Melissa ThompsonSam ChamberlainCatherine Valiant

Graphic Designer Katie Dresel

Materials (per group)

• spring-type clothespin

• clay or play-doh®

• toothpick

• spoon

• safety scissors

• large plastic container such as a dish pan or shallow storage tub

• plastic or paper cups (1 per student)

Treasure (per class)

• about 60 marbles

• about 60 pieces of uncooked macaroni

• about 60 raisins

• about 60 pieces of styrofoam “popcorn” packing material

• water

This activity is a fun way to discover “the right tool for the right job.” In this activity, the students will pretend they are designing a tool that will pick up different kinds of “treasure.”

DesignWorking in groups of 3-5 students, let each student in each group choose a tool (clothspin, toothpick, spoon, scissors, clay). Every type of tool should be available for each group, and students should use the same tool throughout the activity.Show them each type of treasure they will be trying to collect and let them hypothesize about which type of treasure will be the easiest for them to pick up with their tool.

Test• Place about 10 marbles on the floor for each group. Allow students to collect

as much treasure as they can only using their tool. Set a time limit if appropriate. As they collect the treasure they can put it back into their cups. When the students have finished, graph their results on a chart, tool type vs. amount of treasure collected.

• Do the same with the raisins and the macaroni. Challenge the students by placing the styro foam “popcorn” in a large container which is filled halfway with water. A chart can be constructed to record the results for each type of treasure.

• Discuss the charts and their observations.

Mechanical engineers consider different shapes and sizes when designing tools or machines.

Discuss the types of tools the students use every day. Choose one and discuss its limitations and how it could be useful to perform other tasks. What is a tool they would like to design?

Resources Credits

Treasure Collector

© 2007 Pacific Science Center200 Second Avenue North • Seattle, WA 98109pacificsciencecenter.org

Printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper.

Materials(per student or team)

• cloth blindfold (optional)

• paper and pencils, if appropriate

Although we are familiar with many types of tools, the uses of some tools are not immediately apparent. Challenge your students’ creativity with an object that may be unfamilar to them.

Design Choose a tool from your kitchen or garage that you believe may be very strange to your students. Ask them to brainstorm a list of uses for this object and what sort of problem it could solve. Perhaps you could suggest to them a set of problems to solve. For example, let your students imagine that they have found themselves on a deserted island. Ask them to brainstorm a list of ways they could use this object to help them on the island. They can also come up with a creative name for the object.

Materials (per student or team)

• old magazines

• marking pensDesignLook through some old magazines that are likely to have photographs of buildings, bridges, towers, etc...(travel magazines often have pictures like this, or explore the Internet.) Build a collection of these pictures large enough to accommodate your students.

Review with your students the fact that structures are composed of geometrical shapes. You may need to review all of the shapes they know. Provide the entire class with a large picture of a structure and work together to find some shapes within the structure. Use a marking pen to outline the shapes you find.

Next, hand out the pictures you have collected and let the students work with a partner to find and mark the shapes they find. Let your students make labels naming the shapes and put their results up for a display.

ExtensionGo on a field trip around your own school to find the many shapes the school is made of. If it is possible, label the shapes as you find them.

Materials (per student)

• writing and drawing tools• paper

Some things to remember about robots:• A robot is a computer that moves.

There are three main parts of a robot/computer:• The input is what the programmer tells the robot to do.

• The output is what the robot does with the programmer’s commands.

• The brain, like yours, stores and processes information. This is sometimes called the Central Processing Unit or the CPU.

Design• Define the task your robot is designed to accomplish.

• Describe the kinds of environments in which the robot will need to function.

• Describe the types of inputs, outputs, and other characteristics that especially suit your robot to its task and environment.

• Pick a name for your robot.• Draw your robot.

For examplePerhaps you’d like a robot to wash your dishes. What features would it need to get its job done: arms, sponges, suction cups? How would it know when the dish is clean? Will water harm it? What name will fit your robot?

All structures are composed of different geometrical shapes. Send your students on a scavenger hunt which will give them practice in recognizing and naming those shapes.

When we ask a person to perform a task, we can give directions in many different ways and still be understood. If we ask a person to close the door for us, that person understands and grasps the doorknob before being able to close that door. This is not so with robots. Our directions, given in the form of a program, need to be very detailed and properly sequenced.Have a little fun with your students and let them “program” you to understand a little about robot (computer) programming.

Design• Ask your students to remember a time when they were asked to perform

a task or chore.

• Discuss what sort of information they were given in order to do that task.

• Let them know that they will be giving you instructions to perform a task of opening/closing the classroom door. Let them know where you will be standing in order to begin this task.

• If it is appropriate, give your students time to write down what they need to tell you in order for you to accomplish this task. This list may be of any length as long as they feel that they have given you enough information. If a writing assignment is not appropriate, students can take turns giving you instructions orally.

• Put on the blindfold if you choose.

TestStand in your selected location and let the students give you instruction in any way you wish.

Take each child’s suggestion literally. If the student suggests that you turn around, you may choose to turn and continue to turn around in a small circle! Soon your students will discover that their instructions may need to be more specific.

Re-DesignIf time allows, let the students re-design their “program” and try again. Feel free to have them write another program, like making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or doing the hokey pokey!

Odd ObjectsDesign A Robot

Structures Are In Good Shape

Program The Teacher