Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
(OP)
I think this is the best forum, but please recommend others if you can think of a better one:
There is a program for National Engineers Month (February in case you forgot) that involves going to local schools and presenting on your job and engineering careers in general - drumming up excitement for the next generation of techies. A large part of the presentation is an 'experiment' to offer hands-on experience to the kids and make them think about engineering outside of their normal routine. You only have about 30 minutes, and obviously monetary resources are limited.
I'm aiming at middle school, but high school level is acceptable too - does anybody have any bright ideas?
There is a program for National Engineers Month (February in case you forgot) that involves going to local schools and presenting on your job and engineering careers in general - drumming up excitement for the next generation of techies. A large part of the presentation is an 'experiment' to offer hands-on experience to the kids and make them think about engineering outside of their normal routine. You only have about 30 minutes, and obviously monetary resources are limited.
I'm aiming at middle school, but high school level is acceptable too - does anybody have any bright ideas?





RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
I'd guess the most public icon of engineering for students in middle school is wind turbines. Maybe they could make one to run a small light.
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
The one I remember best is when the instructor stood with his back against the wall and a bowling ball on a pendelum. Hold the ball to your nose and drop it and conservation of energy says it cannot smash your face when it swings back. Place a few things (soda can, fruit, ect) at the bottom of the swing first to get the idea through that if you are wrong it could really hurt you.
-- MechEng2005
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
A fun thing I did as a teenager in the Boy Scouts was constructing a self supporting bridge over a fictitious span. We had a good leader who started with a bunch of spars (wood logs about 3inches in diameter and varying lengths, perhaps between 2.5feet and 6-8feet)and talked us through the project. It was more a physically executed thought experiment than us trying to solve the challenge individually. The fun part is you get each student involved and they hold a piece, until at some point, when all the parts are assembled and it becomes self supporting. The specific design can be something similar to the rainbow bridge or Da vinci's self supporting bridge. The lesson learned relates both to mechanics and design, but also to cooperation and teamwork.
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
http://www.cosmo.org/vi_at_goddard.htm
I would suggest something simular, with some action or excitement. Something they will remember.
I think what they are showing in the picture is the lighting of a cotton ball after it was diped in liquid oxygen.
A simular idea maybe something simple like a bakeing soda and vinegar rocket.
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
Then you could quickly compute the efficiency of the various sections and show them that indeed, an I Beam or Truss does hold quite a bit more load per unit weight. If they inquire further, you can explain in simple terms that the idea is to put the most material in the locations of maximum load, where it will be most needed etc. etc.
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
Unfortunately as a mechie, your options for blowing things up or making fire are relatively limited compared to mine as a chemie. Unless you're good with straying outside your specialty, I'd suggest destroying something! Testing things to failure is a good one. Show 'em that any idiot can design something to do the job if they throw material at it, but that it takes an engineer to do it safely with an economical use of material.
If you were an electrical, I'd suggest you drop a rare earth magnet down a vertical copper tube and ask them to puzzle over why it takes a LONG time to fall out- much longer than a nonmagnetized disc of steel or ball bearing of the same size.
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
Lets you rapidly design and test various bridges.
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
www.mathmovesu.com
Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
Cheers
Greg Locock
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RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
Think of the kinds of things they do on kids science TV shows and similar, like 'what the Romans (or Victorians or whoever) did for us', Johnny Ball or I guess Bill Nye this side of the pond.
You could maybe show with just pieces of paper and some book ends or equivalent how arches & 'triangles' make a stronger 'bridge' than straight bits of paper or something.
The idea of pre prepared 'beams' for them to break has merit.
One demo on 'what the Romans did for us' that I really liked was an explanation of how concrete worked V just cement. He had a jelly made in a jelly mold with just jello and showed how wobbly it was and how it squished etc.
He then had another one with pieces of pasta suspended in it, multi colored Fusilli as I recall, and demonstrated how it didn't wobble etc.
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
Regards,
Mike
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
Or if you're not into that, some suggested curricula for exactly what you are doing are provided by the SAE Foundation.
http://www.awim.org/curriculum/
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
Energy is one concept (particularly sustainable energy technologies) that is very important.
http://www.newenergyshop.com/
Fe
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
Some of those links look like they'd take more than 1/2 hour.
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
He was talking about safety and illustrated his talk with a variety of explosions... a plastic down pipe with flour blown through it was pretty impressive.
He managed at one point to bring down two or three of the ceiling tiles and his finale was to dip a cigar in liquid oxygen and then light up......OK, cigars are not so good these days but the idea is good.
There is a great deal that can be done with liquid nitrogen, liquid oxygen and dry ice.
Materials like Bitumen are a good example.
I recall visiting a roofing felt company where the bitumen arrived in paper wrapped blocks which they first froze and then smashed with a sledge hammer before dumping the chips in the heating tanks.
JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
Needless to say, the kids lost interst after about 2 minutes in to the build. So my suggestion is that you make sure your the students are age approperiate for what ever you plan on the activity being.
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
You could do something on steam condensing. There is a cool video of a rail car that collapsed after it was steamed out. You could play that and then do an in-class demonstration by heating 1 tbsp of water in a pop can until it boils then turning the can upside down into a bath of ice water (the can collapses quite dramatically). There should be pictures of tanks that have collapsed under vacuum on the net. That's all mechanical!
Collapsing popcan:
http://ww
Imploding rail car:
htt
(there's a video somewhere on the net but I can't get video at work)
Although it's not destructive you could get tanks of water and have them design a neutral buoyancy item by using foam and paper clips.
http:/
This website is awesome:
http://www.engineerguy.com/videos.htm
I love the quartz watch video.
Or you could do a demonstration of automata:
http://ww
This thread has been great, I'm adding all of these ideas to my collection!
K
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
http:/
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
Batteries in series to boost voltage. Some big nails to demonstrate strength of the electro-magnet.
The experiment is available on web I believe.
"Do not worry about your problems with mathematics, I assure you mine are far greater."
Albert Einstein
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RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
It involved finding (as I recall) the max range of a free jet exiting the side of a tank of fluid. Due to the form of the governing equations it had two solutions, one near the bottom, one higher up. It would, I think, make an interesting model and demonstate the physical reality behind the math.
Students would need to be at a high enough grade level to get the math, of course, which is not really that advanced. After all, I got it.
Pretty simple equipment, some kind of a container, a drill and drill bit, some water, some pencil and paper. Add a small pump and battery and have a "water sculpture". I'll do this when I get all that more important stuff done:)
Regards,
Mike
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
- Steve
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
Good demonstartion of buckling.
You can also turn it around to act like a column to show the effect of reducing the effective length.
I saw a load test on an egg once I think it took 300kg. But that would be hard to simulate in a classroom.
Also get them to build a tower with a pack of cards.
You can also demonstrate post tensioning with a bolt and a couple of blocks.
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
Definitely leaning towards destructive testing of something, the toothpick tower/bridge is an old standby but you're right the time-limit is so tight there's probably not time for a second iteration, which is where actual learning could happen.
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
Maybe take a few pieces of 'poster board' or similar thin cardboard.
something that will just support it's own weight over say a 24" span. Load it with small weights - or even better something entertaining to the kids like lego men or something - until it fails.
Then produce one rolled into a tube and repeat.
Then say one folded into a box beam and repeat.
Then maybe folded into an I beam and repeat.
You need to be careful to use little or no tape or adhesive or the kids will think that's why they're stronger.
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
http:/
JMW
www.ViscoAnalyser.com
RE: Experiment for Schoolchildren Edutainment
The experiment was about bone fixation since that's what my company does, I had a model humerus bone split in half with popsicle sticks, dowels, and electrical tape to fix it back together. Each part had a cost associated with it, and they had to come in under a fixed budget as well. The constructs were tested on a 3-pt bend fixture we brought from in from the lab, highest load to failure and most efficient solution teams won candy bars (and bragging rights).
It took just about the whole class to work through it, although one or two groups were fast enough to get a second iteration in - all of which were 10-20lbf stronger than their first. It was also interesting to see even at that age you could tell the techie kids from the rest.