Project: Danger Man
Proposers: Jill Benware, Scott Froom, Dan Siden
To: Professor Susan Finger, Carnegie Mellon University
Date: 4/10/98
INTRODUCTION
Through this activity, children become exposed to different engineering
concepts in an interactive way. More specifically, the Danger Man project
deals on an elementary level with the physics of momentum and energy conservation,
as well as materials selection. Fifth grade children will work on a specific
problem, materials to use for the solution of the problem, and a time constraint.
With this, they will need to decide for themselves how they want to go
about solving a problem to which there is no unique answer.
PROBLEM
Our activity involves launching a clay figure through the air and into
a wall. The kids will get into groups of 3 or 4, and will be given an amount
of clay and a cookie cutter. They will receive a limited amount of various
materials to use throughout the activity. Among the materials will be:
an empty two-liter soda bottle, rocks, toilet paper, paper towels, packing
popcorn, cotton balls, grass, writing paper, string, zip-lock bags, leaves,
and rubber bands.
The children will either sculpt the clay themselves, or use the cookie
cutter to create a figure of their own to save. Then they will seat the
character into the bottle, and design what they feel is the best way to
protect him from impact with the materials at hand. They will then gather
together for a class competition. The goal is for the children to protect
their clay figure from deformation due to the impact of the capsule with
the wall.
In an effort to limit the number of variables involved with this project,
a launcher will be pre built by our team. The launcher will apply the same
amount of force to each launch. The launcher must be cocked by an adult.
However, each group in the class will be able to launch their own bottle
via a pull string mechanism that leaves them a safe distance from the launcher.
With this proposed setup, the children will see first hand, the design
and engineering process. Through the activities immediate ties with real
life situations, such as cars and airplanes, as well as class competition,
and the excitement of catapulting their creation through the air, the children
will be stimulated and interested in this activity for an entire class
period.
ENGINEERING BACKGROUND
The problem that the children will face is similar to problems many
engineers deal with daily. Saving lives and protecting people is the goal
of many engineering projects, and is paramount in such areas as automobile
and airplane design. In this project, the children will have to deal with
similar issues. Using what they instinctively know about projectile motion,
Newton's laws, conservation of energy and energy dissipation through materials
deformation, the children will design a protective capsule as best as they
can.
SOLUTION
To meet our goals, it is necessary to have enough resources, such that each group can have a limited amount of each material. All materials involved in the activity are inexpensive and reusable, with an expected life span of approximately five visits, after which, some of the materials would likely need replacing. The presenter comes supplied with documents explaining the process and the principles involved. This will help the presenter, and the children in any post - activity discussion.
Through this activity, the kids will learn to work together to choose
a final design that they will all agree with. This activity will ideally
engage all types of kids ranging from those who may just want to smash
their clay man into the wall to see how bad he can be destroyed to those
who will try their hardest not to destroy the clay man. Furthermore, due
to the reusable materials involved, the proposed project can be repeated
immediately if the children care to try another design.
Plan
Before this activity can be implemented, some equipment will be needed.
In order to have a fair contest, a standard way of launching the capsules
is necessary. We propose that a launcher be made from Plexiglas, and assorted
hardware such as screws and hinges. Here, all capsules can receive an identical
force. The capsules that will contain the clay characters and the protective
materials, will be a two - liter bottle, with a removable lid. The character
will be placed in the bottle onto a seating device created by fuse deposition.
The presenter of the activity will enter the class, with the materials
separated into appropriate amounts for each group. The presenter will briefly
discuss the object of the activity, and give a quick demonstration of the
damage that can occur to the clay man if he is not protected from the impact.
The class will then be split up into groups of three or four, and each group will receive each material in a zip-lock bag, as well as a two-litter plastic bottle, with the clay man seating device inside. The groups will have 15 to 20 minutes to design their protective device. Each of the groups design elements will be quickly reviewed in front of the class prior to launch, and their design's performance will also be briefly analyzed after launch.
If time and class interest permits, the activity allows for another
round of designs to be created so that kids may make improvements.
Budget
Clay $20
Cookie Cutters (7) - $10
Screws, hooks, hinges, handles - $35
Surgical tubing - $5
Lumber - Scavanged
Plexi Glass - $20
Packing Supplies - $5
Total = $95