8th Grade

Tech 8: A twenty week course in Technology curriculum continues to build on the 6th and 7th grade programs, students will engage in problem based learning projects. Using hands on, activity based learning, students will complete projects including:

Rocketry Activity-This activity uses rocketry to explore transportation technology and the history of flight. The students build a model rocket and launch it. During the launch the students use an angle finder and tape measure to gather data. Using that data, the maximum height of the flights are determined through geometry, trigonometry and basic mathematical calculations.

CO₂ Dragster-This activity develops the engineering skills of the students as they design, build and race a model dragster. Students first create a digital model using Whitebox Learning that allows them to analyze the aerodynamics and weight / mass of their designs. Students will also learn how to design a wheel via CAD / Sketchup to be 3D printed. Once students have a design they will race them virtually before building a final wooden dragster prototype. They test their final dragster in both a wind and smoke tunnel to analyze real life aerodynamics of their design. Students need to stay within a specific design criteria while also making a creative design.

Vex Robotics and Coding - This activity utilizes drag and drop coding to teach the basics of coding. Students will build off of what they learned in 6th grade to program more complex scenarios. Students will work with various sensors on the robot to complete a series of specific tasks.

20 week Program

Hands-on math and science applications

Problem solving

Using common tools and resources to solve the problems presented

Teaches skills for life-long use

Vex Robotics programming and engineering

Co2 Dragster aerodynamic design and testing

3D Printing

Rocketry

Hydroponics