As you can probably guess by the title, my goal would be to teach
kids some of the basic properties behind common material groups, namely
ceramics, metals, and polymers. There are many other projects that could
be considered such as heat capacity, phase changes, volume changes, phase
diagram information, etc. However, a project that shows the general
properties of the main categories of materials, may be more useful for
young children. It will be easier for them to understand and to
construct an exhibit on. In addition, this idea leaves the door open for
many ways to create an interactive exhibit. For this idea, I must first
decide on what particular properties I want to be able to demonstrate
with my exhibit (hopefully all the main ones), and then I must decide on
how this can be done in an interactive way. The main general properties
(there are of course many exceptions) are as follows:

metals - malleable, ductile, hard, luster, good electrical conductor,
metallic bonding
ceramics - brittle, hard, insulators, high heat resistant, ionic bonding
polymers - softer, exhibit substantial elastic deformation, low temp
resistance, not good conductor, covalent bonding

I would now try to think of a creative way to allow kids to
observe these properties through interaction, and I must pick a material
from each category that accurately represents the general properties. A
design team would be helpful to help come up and implement ideas. A good
way to organize would be to have one main entrance to the exhibit (say a
door that enter into a large sphere) with individual experiments or
setups for each property inside the sphere. For example, one area could
be devoted to melting point / heat resistance while another area could be
devoted to hardness / brittle behavior. There could also be an area for
electrical property and one for appearance. It may be complicated to
setup certain areas (especially in a safe manner), so a design team would
be useful and probably needed. To display all the useful properties in
exhibit form, the design team will need to be diverse in many areas, and
they must be able to intercommunicate well.
For example, to demonstrate the electrical properties section: a
Material Engineer could select the proper material from each category, an
electrical engineer could exhibit a way to send a current through each
material (and maybe hook up some type of lighting system to indicate if
the material passes a current through), and a computer programmer /
designer could link the current device to a computer. A civil engineer
could be used to build the cases for the individual section and the large
sphere that encompasses the entire exhibit. It is obvious that
intercommunication / teamwork between respective team is necessary for
the project to be successful. To achieve this intercommunication /
teamwork environment may not be an easy task. One step would be to find
people who enjoy working on projects that educate children. In this
respect, the group members will at least be motivated. There is no
simple formula for achieving a great group. Problems may arise with the
group (as with any group).
Actually finding these people is a very difficult task and is
limited buy the budget constraint. This may be done by advertising in
various forms of media or contacting preestablished consulting firms.
This does not guarantee that the people assigned to the task will be
truly motivated. A thorough interview procedure may be more effective at
finding proper qualities. However, this will cost more money and time to
be completed.
For the project to be completed in a timely manner, the group
would need to meet to decide on what type of setup could be constructed
for each property that was to be demonstrated. Once initial designs are
completed, the proper people must be assigned to each task. It may be
tough to get past the initial stage since many designs are possible. It
may be useful to have a group leader to make decisions, schedule
meetings, and ensure things get done. The group leader could also take
care of any paperwork issues, public relations, problem that arise within
the group, etc.
Prototyping would be the next step in the design process. Small
scale models of the proposed designs could be constructed or parts of the
system (subsystems) could be prototyped. This will ensure that the ideas
proposed are possible to design and work well. The prototypes will be
limited by the material choices and the construction setup required
(safety, etc.) by the proposed idea. The process could take a long time
if complex parts are needed. Each subsystem of the overall may need to
be designed seperately and then integrated into the overall system.
Another key factor that dictates design (and so many other things) is
cost. Unless the project is funded by the government, cost minimization
will probably be very important.
The main problems are likely to occur in finding the right
initial design and design team to meet and the requred criteria.
Assuming the engineers on the job are good and have enough experience,
making the design may not be as difficult. Having a strong team that
works well together is the key for success. Even with a good team
problems may arise in other areas. There may be problems finding the
required materials / components to build the exhibit. There may also be
problems that arise from translating an idea to a prototype or from a
prototype to the actual build. Reconstruction or modification may be
needed at each step in the process.
The final step of the process is allowing outside people to test
the design. The system will need to be maintained to ensure that
everything functions properly.

Jon Bell