Discover Engineering in Central Texas

Movers

Grade Level:  Middle School, 5^th-8^th 

Related classroom topics:  Civil Engineering, Force, Structure

Supplies Needed: 

Divide students into groups of s3-5.  Each group will need: 

·        1 marble

·        Balloon

·        3 straws

·        Tape

·        30 feet of string or thread

·        Large rubber band

·        2 paper clips

·        Square of cardboard

·        Scissors

·        Piece of cloth

Procedure: 

1.      Instruct the students to build something that will move a marble across the room with the following rules

a.       The object cannot touch the ground

b.      The object cannot be moved across the room by a person (no throwing)

c.       Only use the materials given.

2.      Use the first 7 minutes to lay out the task and plan strategies.

3.      The next 12 minutes to construct and test the marble movers

4.      7 minutes for teams to talk about strategies and problems.          

Extensions:  Make it more difficult by extending the amount of supplies and the space the marble must be moved—have extra supplies ready for this.

Related topics you could discuss:  Engineering design, Teamwork

Hints/Tips:  Prepare a list of ideas of how to get the marble across the room, so that you can guide students that are stuck.