Project 3: Outreach Activity for Engineering Education
For your final project, you must design and build an activity that
someone could take into an elementary or junior high school classroom
to teach the students something about engineering.
The activity should
- engage the students in an engineering activity,
- teach them something about what engineers do,
- appeal to all types of children (not just competitive children who
like to blow things up),
- engage about 30 children simultaneously,
- be safe, durable, and suitable for an indoor classroom,
- employ principles of universal design, and
- be transportable in a compact car.
You have two primary clients:
- The faculty members who do outreach activities and
- The children in the classrooms
Secondary clients are the teachers in the schools - who like to have
help with science and engineering activities for their students, but
who would like their classrooms to be left in reasonable order and
would like their students to be enthusiastic, but not hyper, when the
activity is over.
Tertiary clients are the various engineering fields, represented
by the engineering societies, that would like to educate the general
public about engineering and to interest children in engineering as a
potential profession.
The activity can include ready-made things such as popsicle sticks
or legos, but at least one part must be made on one of the rapid
manufacturing technologies we have studied.
Each team has a budget of $100. You should get your supplies from me
through purchase orders. If you want to get reimbursed for purchases
you make on your own, you must get permission from me ahead of time
(and I won't be able to reimburse you for any sales tax you pay).
Bookstore requisitions are fast; outside purchases can take a while --
so plan ahead!
A few years ago, some undergraduates designing exhibits for the
Carnegie Science Center did some background research on how children
learn about science. Here is an outline
of what they found out. Take a look at this, and we can flesh it out
in class.
Project Proposal Presentation: Thursday March 16
Each group will make an informal presentation of their project to the
class for critique on Tuesday March 21.
Your proposal is a proposal, not a commitment. You should plan on
changing and improving your ideas as you get feedback from me, your
classmates, other professors, children, etc.
Project Description: Due Tuesday March 21
By March 21, each group must create a web page that answers
the following questions:
- What is the engineering principle that the children will learn?
- What is the activity?
- What age group is the activity designed for?
- What will the children do and how will they learn by doing
your activity?
- What will be in the activity box? If appropriate, include a
sketch of the activity.
- How does your activity meet the requirements given above?
Project Prototype: Due Thursday March 23
On Thursday, March 23, each team must bring a functional prototype of
their activity to class. The purpose is to see whether the activity
will work and to get more concrete reactions and suggestions from the
other teams. The prototype can be made out of anything and can be
ugly as all get out, but it should demonstrate the concept and
convince you that your idea probably will or probably won't work.
sfinger@ri.cmu.edu
Rapid Design through Virtual and Physical
Prototyping