Each month, our students will have the opportunity to compete in our after-school Engineering Challenge.
The goals of the Challenge include:
1) providing students an opportunity to experience authentically and firsthand the process of engineering as they work as engineers to complete a design challenge
2) providing students an opportunity to work as a group to collaborate and communicate to achieve a common goal
3) providing students an opportunity to compete as an academic team in a different type of competition than our yearly science fair, thus expanding the opportunitites for students to gain recognition for their accomplishments in science and related STEM disciplines.
The March Challenge was to create a functional broom. Students used a PVC pole, hay, carboard, string, and tape to create their brooms. They then had to sweep kitty litter that had been distributed over a 3 ft x 12 ft area into a dust pan, and transfer the kitty litter to a container. Only the hay portion of the broom could be in contact with the kitty litter during the sweeping process. Also, the sweeper had to hold the broom at the top of the pole, forcing teams to secure firmly the broom bristles. The teams had 45 seconds to sweep and collect the kitty litter, and the winner was chosen by determining which group swept up the largest mass.
Thank you to Anna Cotton (Alt Ed Science), Dana Munn (Science), Michael Lavers (Math), and Chris Connors (Art) for working with me as a team to plan and provide these opportunities.