With the shortened school week and our 2nd engineering challenges, we didn't have too much time for new instruction this week, but we did have fun. Here is a quick updates on day one of the challenges for each grade level... Fourth grade's mission this session is, "You have now figured out how to build a rocket to leave the surface of Earth. The next step is to land on the moon. Now NASA needs you to design and test a shock-absorbing system that can help a craft get to the moon and land on the moon and safely deliver two astronauts for exploration without injury to them or their craft." Check out some of the pictures of our planning and building beginning. (There was some major espionage going on today too!) Fifth grade formed their teams today and began their mission, "Once a rover lands on an alien surface, it must be able to perform science experiments for us remotely. We want this rover to be able to collect samples, take pictures, and monitor the environment. Your portion of the mission today is to design a robotic arm that can reach out and pick up an object and bring it safely back to you." The students must craft a robotic arm to pick up a cup holding 100 grams. Love listening to their problem solving and conflict resolution as they try to work with their teams! Check out a couple of shots from today... And the last group of the day were the third graders whose objective was, "Design & build the framework (6 X 6 X 6 inches) for a new capsule for astronauts that can hold up under the extreme pressure of space (math textbooks)." Interesting to see how cardboard can be used in so many different ways! I also love hearing the kid stress about a budget and begin to understand how important it is to make a plan before blowing said budget! There are even more pictures on the photos page of the website, but here are a couple of teasers... One last note, if your child is interested in learning more about the history of our space program and how our astronauts and aerospace engineers have problem solved in real life, I have been watching "Secret Space Escapes" on the Discovery Science channel. Their website also has many of the episodes online. Here is a link to the video 5th grade will watch tomorrow to understand how important robotic arms are to the space program and how they can be used to save lives:
http://www.sciencechannel.com/tv-shows/secret-space-escapes/secret-space-escapes-video/iss-solar-panel-rip-2/_
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Tracey BeanWerner Elementary Archives
May 2018
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