October/November Makerspace projects
October/November Makerspace projects
Check out these fun challenges for October and November!
Check out these fun challenges for October and November!
Embedded Files
Thanksgiving Table Challenge
Thanksgiving Table Challenge
For Thanksgiving, many families gather around the table to enjoy time together and, if they are fortunate, feast on a variety of foods. This week’s challenge is to use a few simple materials to build a table that can hold the weight of a book.
Materials needed:
Notebook paper
Tape
Ruler
Piece of cardboard (at least 8 inches long and 5 inches wide)
Books
Guidelines:
The piece of cardboard will be the top of your table.
The table must be at least 4 inches high. This means that the cardboard must be at least 4 inches off of the ground, or whatever surface your table is on.
The table must be freestanding. That means it can’t be leaning against something or supported by anything else.
The table must be able to hold the weight of a book for at least 5 seconds.
If your table can hold one book, try adding more books one at a time. For each book, make sure the table holds the weight for at least 5 seconds!
Aviation History Month
Aviation History Month
Whether you’ve flown in an airplane before or only dreamed of flying off to some distant land, join us as we celebrate Aviation History Month! Back in May, the Makerspace page provided some links about making paper airplanes and how planes fly. In June we explored how hot air balloons float and challenged you to make your own. This month you can build a simple helicopter out of a regular piece of paper or construct a launcher for all those paper airplanes you’re so good at making now!
Make a paper airplane launcher (Science Buddies)
Video, History of Aviation (History Bombs) – Watch this fun and fast trip through the history of aviation!
Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum – until you get to visit Washington D.C., see the amazing planes in the museum’s collections and do a virtual tour.
November 8 is National STEM Day! What does STEM mean? If you said “Science, Technology, Engineering, Math,” you were right. This is a day to inspire students of all ages to explore these fields through fun and creative projects. So check out all of the great Makerspace activities and challenges from the past few months and find one to try out this weekend. Have fun designing, building, inventing, dreaming, and making!
Head over to the Chemical Engineering Club page for some fun chemistry experiments – including a few tasty ones you’ll definitely want to do.
One of our earliest projects was to make a marble run. If you want to watch some of the most incredible marble runs you’ll ever see, go to the YouTube page for Jelle’s Marble Runs. There’s even a marble racing league that starts on November 7!
Dias de los Muertos
Dias de los Muertos
Days of the Dead takes place each year from October 31 to November 2. It is a joyful time when people remember and celebrate the lives of loved ones who have died. Explore these links to learn more about the significance, history, and special traditions of this celebration.
Watch these two videos to find out more about the Days of the Dead – and how it's not the same as Halloween!
Video, What is Day of the Dead? (National Geographic)
Video, Día de los Muertos aka the Day of the Dead Has Nothing to Do With Halloween (Now This)
Have you seen the movie Coco? Then check out Dia De Los Muertos, an award winning, short animated film that came out a few years before.
Make papel picado to celebrate Days of the Dead. It's easiest to do this colorful, traditional craft with tissue paper, but regular paper can be used as well.
Skulls are an important part of the Days of the Dead celebration. Learn how to make an easy origami skull with this video.
Halloween + STEM = Frightful Fun!
Halloween + STEM = Frightful Fun!
With October 31 quickly approaching, try out some fun Halloween-themed activities and experiments.
Bone Bridge Challenge.pdfBone bridge challenge
Halloween Chemistry.pdfHalloween chemistry!
Latin American Cultural Awareness Month (September 15 to October 15)
Latin American Cultural Awareness Month (September 15 to October 15)
Hammock support
Hammock support
In recognition of Latin American Cultural Awareness Month, we are focusing on another notable Latinx person in the STEM field. Graciela V.O. de Cuadros invented a collapsible hammock support – a frame that allows people to use a hammock wherever they want. Now we don't need to hang the hammock between two trees anymore!
So even though summer is unfortunately over (September 22 was the first official day of fall), this week’s challenge has two parts: 1) build a hammock support that can stand by itself and hold a hammock; and 2) see how much weight your hammock can hold without falling over or collapsing.
Use these guidelines to help you:
The hammock should be a rectangular piece of cloth or paper that . It should measures 6 inches long and 3 inches wide.
The hammock cannot touch the ground.
To add weight to the hammock, try something like pennies or dry beans.
Add one object to the hammock at a time. If the hammock sags and touches the ground, stop and count the number of objects. The challenge is also over if your frame collapses or falls over.
Materials that you might use to make your hammock support include: craft sticks, chenille stems, paper towel tubes, cardboard, string/yarn, rubber bands, glue, tape
Learn about a few of the Latinx scientists who have made important contributions to the STEM fields.
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