Skip to main content

Ship the Chip Engineering Challenge


Our third grade students spent their time in STEM class this week creating a package that would protect a single Pringle chip on its journey from our school to Mast Landing Elementary School in Freeport. In a previous lesson, we learned about package engineering and the importance of considering sustainability as we devise ways to transport products in a safe and environmentally-friendly way. As a result of this learning, a constraint in our "Ship the Chip" challenge was that packages could only contain sustainable materials, with the exception of 12 inches of masking tape.

Our packages are now on their way to Freeport and the STEM teacher there will soon let us know about the efficacy of our packaging!

         .       .              

Comments

Post a Comment

Use the form below to provide a response to a post. Feel free to ask questions and offer suggestions, but please maintain a respectful tone of discussion.

Popular posts from this blog

7th & 8th Graders Code In Python

In their first computer science project of the year, our 7th and 8th graders took a big step in their journeys as programmers -- moving from block-based to text-based coding. In previous STEM projects, students have used tools that allow them to snap together code "blocks" to make things happen. In this unit, they were responsible for typing commands to tell the computer how to execute actions. The image below shows the difference between text-based coding and block-based coding. While there are many different text-based coding languages, our 7th & 8th graders learned skills in Python, due to its beginner-friendly nature. Still, making this transition is not easy, so students were provided with resources and modules to work through that allowed them to have some starting directions and then challenged them to stretch their thinking by generating their own additions and modifications. Here's a look at a project, called "Turtle Race," in action:  https:
Post a Comment
Read more

7th & 8th Graders Showcase Automata!

  Several times each year, our school specialist team works together to create integrated units of study, where students explore a common theme through each of our content areas -- art, music, library/multimedia, PE, and STEM. Our 7th and 8th graders recently completed a Winter Carnival themed unit, where they worked on creating products or performances to showcase during a special carnival event for students in grades PK-2. In STEM class, students designed, built, and improved automata, which are mechanical devices that generate motion through a series of spinning cams, axles, and cam followers. Image Source: Adafruit The following success criteria guided the work for our 7th & 8th grade students: The automata must have a winter theme. The automata must feature at least one element that spins, goes up or down, or moves side to side. The automata design must include at least 10 different materials. Additionally, students were challenged to create autom
Post a Comment
Read more

5th & 6th Graders Invent Baby Products!

 During their fall STEM classes, 5th and 6th graders acted as inventors and entrepreneurs as they devised and created prototypes of innovative baby and toddler products. Students began their work by developing a list of potential challenges or problems facing babies and new parents and then selected a problem to try to remedy with a new invention. After developing their concept and thinking about the features of their products, students then built prototypes and created advertisements for their inventions. Finally, students presented their work to their classmates and tried to convince Ms. Hewes that their items would help make her life as a new parent easier.  With thoughtful and creative ideas ranging from RFID-enabled baby gates, diaper-changing robots, self-walking strollers, and a wide variety of educational games and toys, it wouldn't be surprising to see some of these products on store shelves someday!  
Post a Comment
Read more