An Opportunity to Find Out What Works and What Doesn’t

“Your mission, ladies and gentlemen, is to make a balloon travel along a string.  Once you are satisfied that you have successfully accomplished that, you are to adjust your design to make the balloon travel faster.  In the end I would like you to see just how fast you can get the balloon to travel to its destination at the end of the string.”

Those were the instructions.  The materials each team of two started with were a balloon, a straw, and whatever length of string they wanted.  If they wanted to use additional materials, they had to ask.  I said yes to all requests that did not present safety concerns.  And they were off!

This was such a fascinating process to watch.  Most immediately began blowing up the balloons and tying them off – but then what?  Why were they given a straw?  “Do we have to use the straw?  How long should the string be?”

“Yes, use the straw.  Cut the string where you think it should be cut.”

There was that slight hesitation.  Those moments of letting the idea sink in that I wasn’t going to give them step by step directions.  But quickly that hesitation turned to excitement and concentration on the task.  I stepped back at this point and became the observer and recorder of the event.  I did not blow up balloons, and I did not get drawn into any group’s brainstorm.  I was eager to watch how each group would work this out.

DSCN6378 DSCN6338

At least two groups tried to use what they knew about balloons.  They rubbed the balloon in their hair to create static electricity.  They were disappointed to see that it wasn’t enough to keep the balloon sticking to the straw.

DSCN6339

DSCN6359

They tried seeing if the static electricity they were creating could be strong enough to pull the balloon along the string.  At this point the balloon was taped to a straw through which the string was threaded.   Then the balloon was rubbed in hair.  The girl followed the balloon as it was released on the string,  hoping her charged hair would pull the balloon.  This worked, but it was not speedy.  They abandoned the idea of using static electricity in this process, although other groups were curious by what this group was doing, and I saw them trying things with it as well.

Most everyone knew that by having one end of the string higher than the other, gravity would help that balloon move along the string.  There was one group, however, that created a two person game.  They rigged the strings in such a way that each person held the end of two strings.  As the first person pulled one string back, the balloon moved toward the other person.  Then the second person pulled one string back, and the balloon traveled back to the first person!  They added to the fun of their new game by drawing a face on their balloon.  What an unexpected invention!

DSCN6361 DSCN6377

Those who were taping one end of their string to the wall quickly learned that masking tape sticks better than scotch tape!  I did not let anyone attach their string to the ceiling, so they reached up along the wall as high as they could reach.  It was interesting to see the groups experiment with the angle of descent.  They learned that it indeed made a difference!

DSCN6380 DSCN6372 DSCN6342 DSCN6344

DSCN6374

While some were learning that the angle of descent was important, others were learning that the tautness of the string was important.  A few trials in which the balloon slowed and stopped along the way down, made the members of those groups tighten up the string.  One group even rubbed the string with closed markers, hoping to make the straw move more smoothly.

The next interesting thing I saw happening was weights being added.  This came in different ways.  Some added the weight by taping it directly to the balloon.  Others taped it to the straw.  Sometimes the weights were added in random places on the balloon and sometimes the weights were equal on either side of the balloon.  There was so much experimentation going on!  And as I had hoped, trying out each great idea always seemed to inspire another!

DSCN6345 DSCN6347 DSCN6367 DSCN6369 DSCN6384

DSCN6385 DSCN6388

It was interesting to note that some models had the balloon traveling above the string and some had it hanging below the string.  It appeared that the faster model had the balloon above the string and the weights attached to the straw.  One group used the cardboard tube from gift wrap and taped baggies full of Jenga blocks to it.  That balloon went really fast, but the baggies which were taped to the tube with duct tape kept falling off upon impact.

Another innovative idea was to tie two strings side by side.  The straw was cut in half and the strings were threaded through each piece.  The balloon was then taped to the two straws and set on its descent.  I loved that they thought of it and tried it.  In the end they learned that using two strings slowed the balloon down rather than to speed it up.

DSCN6364

Now if you are like me, you’ve been wondering when someone would think to blow up a balloon but NOT tie it off.  Instead, hold it shut while it gets taped to the straw.  Then let go and watch the balloon power itself!  Funny, but only five out of the thirty groups that experimented throughout the day played around with this idea.  One of the groups that used the untied balloon as an “engine” combined it with other great ideas.  They had a tied off balloon taped to the bottom of the straw with weights (markers and glue sticks) taped to the straw.  They blew up a second balloon and taped it to the top of the straw just before launching.  After a few successful descents, they dressed up their model with airplane-type wings and called it the U.S.S. Static Electricity!

DSCN6350 DSCN6351

I think I enjoyed this 45 minute activity as much as the students.  They were never done trying out different ideas.  There was that one group that in the first five minutes said, “We can’t get it to go.  We can’t do this.”  But given five more minutes, they were busy, busy, busy.

After clean up, I gathered everyone together and asked what they had learned.  You see, the point of this was never to have the fastest balloon in the class.  The point was to keep modifying or trying different ideas and to improve the original design several times.  To that end, everyone achieved success!

DSCN6386

“She Turned Her Can’ts Into Cans And Her Dreams Into Plans” -Kobi Yamada

New standards to follow.  Again.  But this time?  I’m happy.  I’m really and truly happy!  I’m speaking about the Next Generation Science Standards.

As the fifth grade science teacher (We are specializing this year.  I teach science, writing, grammar, and orthography.) I have become familiar with the new standards and am completely rewriting our grade level curriculum.  What is it about the standards that make me so happy?  Let me put it this way.  If there were no standards to follow and I was allowed to teach science however I wanted, I would do what these standards are asking.  Example number one.

There is a standard for teaching students about engineering design.  They must be given a problem to solve.  It must be a real problem that needs solving.  They must do some research and discuss their design and choice of materials with peers.  They must be given time to implement their design.  After reflection, they must be given an opportunity to try it again and improve their original design.

First week of school.  Each student has his/her own locker.  Every two students have a third locker that they share.  In the personal locker, jackets, boots, snowpants, backpacks, and lunches will be stored.  In the shared locker, books, folders, and classroom supplies will be stored.  The problem to solve?  Design locker shelving that will create the kind of storage that will help the two students sharing the locker stay organized.

Step One:  Collect information.  Students measured the height, the width, and the depth of the locker.

DSCN4653 DSCN4650 DSCN4649 DSCN4640 DSCN4629 DSCN4628 DSCN4627

Step Two:  Do some research.  What kind of locker organizers/shelving is on the market?  Can you incorporate some of these ideas into your design?

DSCN4632 DSCN4633 DSCN4634 DSCN4642 DSCN4643 DSCN4644 DSCN4645 DSCN4646 DSCN4654 DSCN4655

Step Three:  Draw your design and label with the dimensions.

DSCN4644 DSCN4647 DSCN4653

Step Four -Build.  THE CHALLENGE:  Use as much recycled material as possible.

DSCN4660 DSCN4661 DSCN4663 DSCN4664 DSCN4665 DSCN4667 DSCN4668 DSCN4670 DSCN4672 DSCN4675 DSCN4677

Step Five:  Test the final product.

DSCN4662 DSCN4668 DSCN4678 DSCN4681 DSCN4682 DSCN4698

Step Six:  Reflect.  Think about your own process.  Did you change your plan along the way?

DSCN4738 DSCN4739

Question:  If you were to do this project over, what would you do differently?

Responses:
“I would make the shelves thicker to hold more weight.”  Nicole
“Use better and stronger materials.”  Matthew
“If I had found some styrofoam, we would have used it.”  Zach
“I’d add more shelves because we don’t have room for all our supplies.”  Trevor
“I would use better supports to hold up the shelves.”  Aevri
“I would use thicker yarn.”  Aidan
“Our shelves needed stronger supports and stronger materials.”  Evelyn

Three weeks later, some of the shelving is nonexistent. Some has fallen apart and is no longer functional.  But several remain intact and quite successful.

DSCN4740 DSCN4741 DSCN4743 DSCN4744 DSCN4745 DSCN4746 DSCN4747

So!  It is time for those students whose first design didn’t quite yield successful results to rethink their plan.  It’s time to have another go at it.   Will any of the successful designs be copied?  Will completely new designs and materials pop up?  What a great activity!