February/March Makerspace projects
February/March Makerspace projects
Check out these fun challenges for February and March!
Check out these fun challenges for February and March!
Embedded Files
Zaha Hadid
Zaha Hadid
Zaha Hadid was an Iraqi-British architect known as the “Queen of the Curve” for the modern, curving designs of her buildings and bridges. She was the first woman to receive the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize. See examples of some of her most memorable buildings here, then learn more about bridges and what makes them so strong. Finally, try out a fun bridge STEM challenge!
Building Big
Building Big
Bridge Basics (PBS) – How do major types of bridges work?
The Bridge Challenge (PBS) – Test your engineering skills and try to match the right bridge to the right location.
Video
What Makes Bridges So Strong? (SciShow Kids)
Bridge STEM challenge
Materials: 20 plastic drinking straws (not the bendy type), tape, scissors, 1 foot of yarn or string, 8 paper clips, small plastic or paper cup, 100 pennies
Challenge: Design and create the strongest bridge possible, as measured by the number of pennies that it can hold in a cup sitting on the bridge. There are 2 ways to try this: 1) The bridge must sit at least one inch off the table and be at least 8 inches long, or 2) Take two books that are the same height and set them 8 inches apart on a table; the bridge must cross the gap between the books, but it can’t be taped to the books.
Hint: think about the different types of bridges seen and the strength of different shapes.
Women's History Month
Women's History Month
March is Women's History Month, a celebration of the often-overlooked contributions of women to American history, culture, and society. Learn more about just a few of the many amazing women who have made important discoveries and conducted groundbreaking research in the STEM fields. This week we highlight Dr. Susana López Charretón, a virologist who has made major advancements in our understanding of the rotavirus, which can cause diarrhea in young children. Even though a vaccine is the best way to protect people from this potentially deadly virus, frequent hand-washing and disinfecting surfaces also helps.
Article, What's the Scoop on Soap? (CBC Kids)
Article, 16 Wonderful Women Scientists to Inspire Your Students (We Are Teachers)
Science Is For Girls: 35 Books About Female Scientists (A Mighty Girl)
St. Patrick’s Day is on March 17, so we have three activities related to the holiday.
According to Irish myth, leprechauns are small, fairy creatures who spend most of their time making and fixing shoes. Each one is also said to have a pot of gold that he (for some reason there are no female leprechauns) often keeps at the end of a rainbow. Most importantly, a leprechaun must give his gold to anyone who captures him.
Leprechaun Trap
One of your challenges this week is to design a leprechaun trap that can catch and hold one of these magical people!
Your trap must have something as bait to attract the leprechaun into the trap. Something shiny (leprechauns do like gold!), green, or rainbow-colored are good ideas.
The trap must not hurt the leprechaun in any way.
Include decoration that would catch a leprechaun’s eye and get him interested. The color green and shamrocks are connected with the Irish and St. Patrick’s Day.
How will the leprechaun get trapped? Will he fall into a hole? Will something fall on him from above? Does he need to climb a ladder to get to the bait?
Suggested materials: cardboard box (shoe box or similar), small box or basket, chenille stems, popsicle sticks, cardboard tubes, aluminum foil, bowl, rubber bands, tape, glue, string
Here are two “rainbow” experiments to try out. The first one is called Rainbow Milk, and the second is Walking Water.
Rainbow Milk experiment.mp4Follow some easy step-by-step directions to do the Rainbow Milk experiment.
AIChE Walking Water.movUse even more cups and colors of food coloring to create a whole rainbow of walking water!
Matthew Henson
Matthew Henson
This week we highlight Matthew Henson, a Black explorer who reached the North Pole in 1909 as a member of an expedition led by Robert E. Peary. The two explorers made a number of Arctic trips together, during which Henson learned the language and survival skills of the Inuit people. He also excelled at building and handling the dog sledges used for their expeditions. During their seventh journey, on April 6, 1909, Peary, Henson, and four Inuit traveled to what they thought was the North Pole. There is controversy about who reached it first, but it was Henson who planted the U.S. flag to mark the spot. Afterwards, Peary was honored and praised for this accomplishment, but Henson did not get the recognition he deserved due to racism. Only much later in life did he receive the proper acknowledgment for his incredible achievements.
Matthew Alexander Henson (Britannica Kids) – Read a short biography about this great explorer.
Video, Who Was the First Person to Reach the North Pole (National Geographic)
Experiment: What Makes Ice Melt Fastest? (Scientific American) – Try this easy experiment to learn what common household substances will make an ice cube melt faster.
Black Inventors and Scientists
Black Inventors and Scientists
This week the Makerspace page turns a spotlight on Black inventors and scientists, who rarely have received the recognition they deserve. You’ve probably heard of Benjamin Banneker, George Washington Carver, and Mae Jemison. But what about Lewis Latimer, who contributed to the invention of the first telephone in the late 1800s? Or Patricia Bath, who developed a laser used in eye surgery? And don't forget Lonnie G. Johnson, who invented the Super Soaker water gun – and oh yeah, is also a nuclear engineer who has worked for the Air Force and NASA. Learn more about overlooked African American pioneers in the STEM fields with these resources.
Bettye Washington Greene was the first female Black chemist to work at the Dow Chemical Company. Her research at Dow focused on latex and polymers.
Polymers and Plastics
Polymers and Plastics
Video, Polymers — What are polymers? Watch this video to find out!
Video, Plastics 101 (National Geographic) — Learn how plastic is created and how we can counter the damaging effects of this pervasive material.
Now try a fun experiment where you turn milk into plastic!
turning milk into plastic with aiche CAPTIONED.mp4Turning Milk into Plastic experiment video
Shake It Up!
Shake It Up!
After learning about seismographs last week, now try building a “shake table” that can simulate an earthquake. Then use everyday materials to design a simple building that can (hopefully) survive the earthquake. Learn all about the “Seismic Shake-Up” challenge at the Design Squad Global website. Good luck!
Don't have all the materials suggested for this project?
For the shake table, try substituting:
For tennis balls... a different type of small ball, as long as they are the same size (baseball, golf ball, Wiffle ball)
For the building, try substituting:
For coffee stirrers... craft sticks, dry spaghetti (break in half), straws (cut in half)
For clay... mini-marshmallows, playdough, tape
Chinese Inventions
Chinese Inventions
The Chinese have contributed many great inventions and scientific discoveries to the world. Four of them, known as the Four Great Inventions, are especially celebrated for their impact: the compass, gunpowder, papermaking, and printing. Another interesting invention was a seismograph (also called a seismometer), which is a tool to measure earthquakes. Astronomer and mathematician Zhang Heng developed an early seismograph all the way back in 132 AD! Find out more about Chinese inventions and build your own seismograph to see how they work.
Read!
The Greatest Chinese Inventions (ThoughtCo)
Ancient Chinese Seismometer Used Dragons and Toads (Kids Discover)
Make!
Find the instructions from Science Buddies (with video) here.
Materials you need: medium-sized cardboard box, paper or plastic cup , string , marker , scissors, long strip of paper (tape together), tape, small but heavy objects to use as weights (coins, marbles, small rocks, etc.), and another person to help
Report abuse