Extraordinary Engineers at Work

As always, our #CollaboratoryCubs have been hard at work tackling many new and exciting adventures.  Take a look at some of the great things that they have been doing!

Our Pre-K engineers have continued working on their teamwork challenges.  The students were challenged to build the "Tallest Teamwork Tower" that they could, first using the foam blocks and then using the foam blocks and shaving cream combined.  The students investigated why their second tower was more successful, and then they applied what the learned to create other types of towers.

Our kindergarten engineers began their "Designing Bridges" unit this week by reading the first part of the unit's intro story:  Javier Builds a Bridge.  The students discussed Javier's problem and already started to brainstorm some ways that they could solve it.  Some of the key words introduced in the story were "sturdy" and "stable" because Javier was in need of a stronger bridge, which led to the kinders exploring and testing some different building materials and deciding if they were "sturdy" or not.  After testing the materials, the students reported out on their findings and evaluated which materials would be safest for bridge-building. 

Our first grade engineers began their "Designing Lighting Systems" unit by starting to read the intro story: Omar's Time to Shine.  We learned about the Valley of the Kings, which is where Zane, who is an optical engineer, was working on developing a coating that would protect the paintings from fading due to light exposure.  Our first graders decided to do their own experiment regarding the effects of fading.  They made some "Collaboratory Cave" pictures and we cut them in half so that we could put each half in a different area in the room with different light exposure.  This way, by next week, we will be able to compare what happens to the pictures in the two different locations.  

Our second grade engineers began their "Designing Water Filters" unit by reading the first part of the intro story: Saving Salila's Turtle.   The story takes place in India along the Ganges River, so our students did some research about the Ganges River to gain a better understanding of the magnitude of some of the problems that exist in that region.  This research led the students to learning more about the global water crisis and the effect that it is having on people and other living things all around the world.  Our students are currently brainstorming ways that they can help promote awareness of the water crisis and take action to help those suffering all around the world. 

Our third grade engineers finished up their "Pumpkin Elevator" systems!  The students were very creative in their designs and really thought about how these systems could help people with different needs.

Our fourth grade engineers continued working on their "Designing Windmills" unit by investigating how different materials could "catch" the wind in the most effective ways.  Students designed, created, and tested kite prototypes to explore which materials were the best wind catchers.  This research is going to prove very useful when we begin blueprinting our windmill designs later in this unit.

We are looking forward to continuing our Collaboratory journey in the weeks ahead!

#TigerStrong Teamwork

The Collaboratory has been moving and shaking this week!  Take a look at all of the exciting challenges and projects that we did!

Our Pre-School students have been busy working on teamwork challenges.  In their first challenge, the students had to build boats out of all different materials in order to help the bears and dinos cross the river to visit their friends on the other side!  I was very proud of the students' hard work and determination.

I also had the opportunity to read Teeny Tiny Halloween to the Pre-School students.  The students were challenged to design the tallest ghost decoration possible so that the trick-or-treaters would be able to see the teeny tiny woman's house in the forest. They did an amazing job!

Our kindergarten engineers also had a Halloween-themed problem to solve.  They had to help the witch save her magical fingernails that had fallen into the cauldron so that she could have her magic back in time for Halloween.  The students were really creative when they were designing the contraptions that would help them save the magical fingernails and help the witch!

Our first grade designers finished up their Dream Neighborhood projects, and I couldn't be more proud of the finished products!  Take a look at their amazing work:

Our second grade engineers learned all about earthquakes and how engineers work to design buildings and structures that can hold up against all different types of natural disasters including earthquakes.  Students were challenged to design and construct building prototypes that could survive a simulated earthquake (a tray full of Jello).  The students persevered when the challenge got tough, and I was very impressed with their determination.

Our third graders did an incredible job following the blueprints that they created for their scarecrows last week.  They made some improvements along the way, and the finished products are better than we could have ever imagined!  We are proud to welcome Collaboratory Cub, Scarecrow Snoopy, Kung Fu Panda, and Nacle Farmer to the TES Garden!

 Our fourth graders began their "Designing Windmills" unit.  We started to read Leif Catches the Wind, and we went outside to complete our own wind and weather reports just like Leif did in the story!

We can't wait to continue on with all of our exciting Collaboratory adventures!