Collaboratory Corner

Creative Problem-Solving

Our Collaboratory Cubs have been very busy over the past few weeks!  Take a peek at our engineers in action!

Our Pre-K engineers have been working hard on some mini challenges in order to start becoming familiar with the Engineering Design Process.  The students helping Penguin make it from one side of the icy water to the other so that he could visit his friend.  In Pre-K, we put a huge emphasis on the Improve step, or as we call it in in Pre-K, the "Try Again" step.  It's important for our youngest learners to build up their confidence in trying solutions and understanding that it's okay if their first try doesn't work.  It's never too early to start building perseverance.  

Our kindergarten civil engineers have completed their research on bridges and moved through the design process to imagine, plan, create, and improve their bridge designs!  They were challenged to build a bridge using the materials provided so that our favorite Hexbug friends could cross the pond safely all on their own.  The students applied what they learned from their research about bridges to create an assortment of successful bridges.  There was a nice balance of beam bridges and arch bridges created, and I was impressed with the students' dedication to helping the Hexbugs!

Since our kindergarten engineers were so great at bridge-building, we continued building and creating different structures, including new luxury homes for Punxsutawney Phil on Groundhog Day!  Their creativity with their designs really made me proud!  What groundhog wouldn't want his or her own pool or personal picnic area?!?

 

These students even made a bridge for Phil!  I love when students make connections to our units all on their own!  

Our first grade optical engineers continued with their light research by experimenting to see which materials could absorb, reflect, and refract light.  The students even measured the light intensity levels of places all around our school using their light intensity meters.  The students then used their research to design and create their own lighting systems.  First, they designed and created their own themed caves that had a light intensity of 4, and then planned and created their own lighting systems to install in the caves they made.  The students made some improvements along the way, but they worked hard until they were able to improve the light intensity in their caves to a level 2 or lower.  The students had a blast combining their engineering skills with their makerspace skills!

Our second grade environmental engineers have started planning, creating, and testing their own ideas for their water filtration systems.  The students applied what they learned about water filter materials through their research in order to create blueprints for their own water filter designs.  They were given the prices of different materials and had to work hard to plan what they felt would be a successful water filtration system that would also be affordable and under their budgets.  The students used their blueprints to create their first water filter designs, and they are in the process of testing the effectiveness of their designs now!  I can't wait to see their results and what type of improvements they will make to their designs!

Our third grade engineers are excited to design and build their own submersibles, but before they do, it was important for students to experience some of the other technologies that were used to explore the ocean before submersibles were invented (and it helps them to better understand the "why" behind the creation of submersibles).  One of the technologies used before a submersible was a sounding pole, so the students worked on an experiment that allowed them to use a simulated sounding pole to "explore" and "collect data" from a simulated model ocean.  The students had to use their sounding poles to try and figure out what items were at the bottom of the "ocean floor" (the box) and where they were placed.  Each group received the same ocean floor with the same materials in the same locations (at least when they started), but they didn't know this detail before they began.  The students quickly realized how difficult and time consuming it was to collect the data.  When we had our "big reveal" after the students completed their data charts, they were shocked to see what was in the boxes and that each group had started with an identical box.  They were surprised to see how those materials changed and moved around as we continued to move the boxes around (like how ocean waves can move things on the ocean floor around).  It kicked off a great discussion about why sounding poles are no longer used, how the problems with the sounding pole led to creating more advanced technologies like sonar and submersibles, and how ocean currents and other natural changes can cause the layout of a location to evolve and change over time.

Our fourth grade engineers have entered the world of mechanical engineering!  After reading and discussing this unit's intro story, Leif Catches the Wind, the students explored a variety of items created by mechanical engineers.  They even hunted around the school looking for items that were created by mechanical engineers!  Then, the students learned all about Rube Goldberg and explored some of his inventions, which are designed to complete very simple tasks in the most elaborate and complex ways possible.  Learning about Rube Goldberg's work inspired some of our students to design and create their own Rube Goldberg-style machines!  Creating their own Rube Goldberg machines taught the students a lot about how pieces work together to accomplish a task, which was the perfect transition into our "Designing Windmills" project.  Right now, our students are exploring how well different materials can catch wind, which will help them figure out which materials will be the best to use for their windmills.

 

And of course, with this past week being Kindness Week and Valentine's Day, we had to throw in some special themed activities!  Some of our students read and discussed The Day It Rained Hearts so we made it rain hearts in the Collaboratory!  The students were challenged to use those hearts to design and create their own Kindness Critters!  Some of our other students worked on a creativity challenge where students had to transform a candy heart into something completely new and different!  

We are looking forward to working on more fun projects in the future!