Pool Chairs and Other Activities

Over the past couple of weeks we have been designing Pool Chairs for Barbie. The groups have been given the task of designing a chair that has:
1. wheels to transport it
2.  a back that has at least 3 different positions
3. a leg rest that has at least 2 different positions.

The chair must be built entirely out of Legos. Each group will  present their chair at the end of this week. This is a project that we do when learning about the Engineering Process in Science. It gives the class the opportunity to share ideas and to work in groups as they design and build the chairs. Every year the students start out claiming that the task is impossible but every year each group comes through with solid designs.

The students have also been working on battle reports from the Revolutionary War. Each group of 3 or 4 students will research an assigned battle of the war and then create a PowerPoint presentation and present their findings to the class next week. We were able to use the iPads to do our research in the classroom which always helpful.

Finally, the class has been hard at work at home designing and building their egg drop contraptions. The eggs will be dropped this Thursday from the roof above our classroom. The contraption, including the egg, can't weigh more than 200 grams so it is a real challenge confronting each student. Egg drop time is always fun. Stay tuned for pictures next week.