Projects

Bridge Building Project is an opportunity for students to learn about forces and the engineering design process in a hands-on way. The bridge project has students build a balsa wood bridge using nothing but glue and balsa wood. These instructions can be modified to suit any grade level.

• Preliminary Project Activities. While learning about forces in class, students are given a lab day to complete an online lab where students play bridge simulations and record their progress. This activity is assigned and collected on Google Classroom.
• Students must research bridge design and then brainstorm possible bridge construction ideas for their bridge.
• Students create their own calendar of due dates and then provide evidence to the teacher as deadlines are met. This helps emphasise the importance planning, working with a partner, and helps students understand the scope and sequence of the project.

Roller Coaster Project is another opportunity for students to learn about kinematics, Newton's laws, energy, and momentum, and the engineering design process in a hands-on way. Students may work with a partner to build a paper roller coaster that meets the design specifications set by the class. This project can easily be modified to suit any grade level 6-12+.