Hot Air Balloon Projects: Students researched and then came up with a plan to design and build a tissue paper hot air balloon. They used balloon testers to help them determine flaws in their designs, problem-solve ways to improve the performance and then applied that to their final product which we tested outside. Students did a great job working as a team and overcoming failures. | |
| Design Project: Reptile Incubators After completing our unit on chemical reactions, student "engineering teams" were tasked with designing a portable reptile incubator which could safely transport a snake egg from a dig site to a conservation center. Teams had to experiment to find the right combination of chemicals to create their own heat pack(s) that would reach 28 - 32 degrees Celsius. Once they had the right combination, teams then tested the pack in their device. The goal was to reach 28-32 degree range and be able to maintain that temperature for 30 - 45 minutes, so students again adjusted the insulation of their device, number of packs used, or chemical combinations to achieve the best results. All of the teams did an amazing job thinking outside the box and creating successful projects. |