Something new at our school. Today was Engineering Day for Second Grade. All day the six classes moved through a series of stations held around the Lower School campus. They had been well prepared by their classroom teachers under the guidance of an engineering specialist. In addition student volunteers from the Fifth and Sixth Grades came down to lend a hand. The projects each class worked on involved solving problems by constructing simple machines, and some not so simple. The top left picture shows kids testing boats they had created to keep afloat while carrying pennies. The girl with the triumphant smile kept her boat going with 41 pennies aboard. The kids below the boat experiment were creating Rube Goldberg machines. The boy and girl on the platform were testing the paper airplanes they had designed. (You can see others working on their planes on the lower right.) Another problem was creating a catapult that could launch cotton balls. You can see one young man working on his, and on the lower left, others were testing their creations for distance. On the far right, kids are constructing balloon-powered cars and right above that picture is a group giving their cars a test drive.
The teachers were delighted at the level of engagement exhibited by the students, and the students were just happy to have such a wonderful day of fun and creativity. Best seen with the magnifier.
Sounds like a great day full of fun and experiments. I think this is just the type of thing that keeps kids interested in learning. Wonderful shots and work you are doing Allison.
I love this collage, Allison ... but even more, I like the way that the students are "learning how to have a "hands on" approach to solving a problem. Engages the brain in a wonderful 3D way, I think. So much better than solving it just with paper and pencil. P.S. Love the "Einstein!"
