The fifth graders created, designed, and built cardboard creations inspired by Caine's Arcade and the Cardboard Challenge. What is the Cardboard Challenge, you ask? Check out the video about Caine and his amazing cardboard arcade. This was a three day challenge. We spent lots of time discussing and going over the engineering/design process. On day one, the students watched the Caine's Arcade video and began to brainstorm what game or activity they would like to create as a group. Next, the group designed a detailed plan of the game. The kids had the remaining two and a half hours of class time in CLIC to actually build their cardboard creation using only cardboard, tape, and minimal extra supplies. Students were encouraged to modify and adjust their designs along the way as needed. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving break was our big day. The fifth graders presented their games to the entire school. We spent half an hour setting up the cafeteria and transforming it into a giant arcade. Classes came down throughout the morning to play these incredible games and experience the joy of creativity.
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For a little Halloween fun, STEAM Club was given the challenge to design a catapult that would launch a candy corn the farthest distance. We practiced every step of the engineering/design process for this challenge. The materials for each group were: - 20 popsicle sticks - 10 rubber bands - masking tape - 1 spoon - 1 binder clip Once the students determined what they were being asked to do, they began to imagine what their catapults would look like and brainstorm together as a group how they wanted to design their project. Once an initial brainstorm was done, the students were asked to come up with a plan and a rough sketch of their design. Next came the fun part: creating the catapults! Once the catapult was built, each group had five trial launches. During this time, students were asked to assess the success of their launches and modify their catapult if they felt the design could be improved. It was very exciting to see how far the candy corn would go! Our launches were incredibly successful! One group was able to launch their candy corn an amazing 85 feet!! It was a blast seeing how far the catapults could launch the candy corn. Once the fun was over, students reflected on their data and their designs. Each group made a successful catapult and were pleased with their final results. I'm one proud teacher! Happy Halloween!
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AuthorKristen Cahill, CLIC program teacher and coordinator at Proctor School. Archives
October 2018
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