MOVERS
Materials:
Per team: marble or other small object; balloon, three straws, tape, 30 feet of string or thread, large rubber band, two paper clips, square of cardboard, scissors, piece of cloth
Procedure:
Use the first 7 minutes to lay out the task and plan strategies, 12 minutes to construct and test the marble movers, 7 minutes for teams to talk about strategies and problems.
Have students work in teams, Challenge them to build something that will move a marble (or other small object) across the room. Set the rules:
- The object cannot touch the ground,
- The object cannot be moved across the room by a person. (They may not throw it.)
- Students can only use the materials they are given.
After students have designed and tested their constructions, invite them to talk about the ideas they had, the strategies they used, and the problems they encountered.
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