Project Summary

Throughout this unit, students will apply 21st century skills of creativity and critical thinking, through the engineering design process. They will collaboratively create and construct a lantern that will shine light or bring attention to an issue facing their local community.  Students will interview various people within their community, review infographics, and observe these issue around them to identify a problem people or even animals may be facing. Students will then research and apply knowledge of light and magnetism to design a lantern that solves an identified and collectively agreed upon problem or issue. Students will study past inventors to identify characteristics of an inventor (i.e.,creativity, perseverance, initiative). They will use what they learn to collaboratively brainstorm ideas for their  invention. Students will use literature and technology resources to develop their ideas. And together they will develop and prototype their solutions in the form of a lantern.