Engaging Children, Youth, and Families in Engineering through Presenters: Keliann LaConte, Stephanie Shipp, and Andy Shaner Technical Support: Christopher Harrison and Ramiro Padilla

Engineers work to solve the basic challenges of life Credit: U.S. Navy / Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Gina Wollman … including having fun!

Engineers use technology to help us enjoy our world. Credit: Engineers without Borders They even use everyday materials like PVC pipe, sand and gravel to create solutions that save lives!

Be Creative…Be an Engineer!

Activity 1: DESIGN A PARK

Plan the Park of Your Dreams! THINK Place different park features on the grid to create a map of your park! Together, choose 10 or fewer park features to include on the map. Everything must fit on the grid! Your park must include restrooms. Use yarn to represent trails or bike paths. Give visitors a way to get to each of your parks features. Add yellow beads along the paths these represent lights.

Plan the Park of Your Dreams! THINK Place different park features on the grid to create a map of your park! Keep track of the points on the park features cards keep your total under 250 points! Your park must include restrooms. Cut the yarn and use the pieces to represent trails or bike paths. Give visitors a way to get to each of your parks features. Add yellow beads along the trails or paths these represent lights. Scale: the length of one (1-inch) square is equal to 30 feet (or about 9 meters).

Costs 10Pond Wind Turbine Generating Electricity 15Ball Courts (such as for basketball or tennis) -30Boat Rental Shop, Boat Slip, and Pond 15Dog Park-30Wetland 20Water Playground-85Open space 30Swimming Pool-300Ice Cream Shop 30Stream and Footbridge 30Trail/bike paths 50Community Garden 75Picnic Area 90Restrooms and drinking fountains 150Playground 215Skate Park 250Baseball Diamond 200Parking Lot Savings

Activity 2: TEAM MACHINE

Establish a pattern 1.Form a circle. 2.Say your name. 3.Toss the beanbag to someone across from you (not next to you). Remember that persons name. 4.Keep going until each person has caught the beanbag. Keep the same order as you try to go even faster!

The faster, the better! THINK How can you decrease your time? BUILD, TEST, and DO IT AGAIN! 1.Pass the beanbag around the circle again as quickly aspossible! 1.Pass the beanbag around the circle again as quickly as possible! 2.Say the name of the person who will catch the beanbag eachtime you pass it. 2.Say the name of the person who will catch the beanbag each time you pass it. 3.Try to beat your shortest recorded time Hints: You may move around. You may move around. You may stand or sit.

Activity 3: WATER WEDGES

This kayak is an example of a boat that has a wedge- shaped bow. This paddleboat has a squared front edge.

Which type of boat would you use in a race? THINK and BUILD 1.Pick the materials you think would be best for building each type of boat. 2.Together, plan how you will use the materials to build each boat. Which type of boat would be best to build for a race? Why? 3.Follow your plan to create your model boat. TEST Try pushing each type of boat in the water. Which is easier to push? Does the water pile up, or does it move easily to the sides of the boat? Is one easier to push than the other? DO IT AGAIN! Modify your two designs but change only one thing at a time!

Activity 4: LEVERS AT PLAY

Credit: Lunar and Planetary Institute

Your Seesaw Design THINK and BUILD 1.Pick the materials you think would be best for building a seesaw. 2.Together, plan how you will use the materials to build the seesaw. BUILD and TEST 3.Follow your plan to create your model seesaw. DO IT AGAIN! Modify your design but change only one thing at a time!

Activity 5: LOW-TECH WATER FILTER FOR HIGH- IMPACT CLEAN

Some people in Bangladesh use cloth to clean their water… Credit: National Science Foundation

…to take out small creatures in the water that help spread disease Credit: National Science Foundation

Students help clean water in Nepal Credit: Engineers without Borders

What works best for filtering water? THINK What would you like to test first? BUILD 1.Place a funnel on top of an empty container. 2.Add ONE TYPE of material that you would like to test to the funnel. 3.Balance the funnel on top of an empty container. TEST Pour 1 teaspoon or less of dirty water into the filter. Does the filtered water look different than the dirty water? Is the water cleaner or not? DO IT AGAIN! Can you make the water cleaner?

Activity 6: WIND TURBINE TECH CHALLENGE

Blades Tower Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine Credit: Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives, via Wikimedia Commons There are two different types of wind turbines…

Blades Tower Vertical Axis Wind Turbine Credit: Lynne Kirton [CC-BY-SA-2.0 ( via Wikimedia Commons

Build your own wind turbine! BUILD and TEST 1.Roll the putty adhesive into a ball and flatten it into a disk about 1-inch thick. 2.Push the four toothpicks into the putty so that they stand upright. Keep them close together. 3.Put a small scrap of paper at the bottom of the toothpicks. This will keep the straw from sticking! 4.Stick the Post-it notes to one end of the straw. Make sure they dont cover each other! 5.Slide the straw over the toothpicks. 6.Use a second straw to gently blow across the blades.

Make it even better! THINK, BUILD, and TEST Which different material could you try using? What else can you try changing? The angle of the blades? The size of the blades? The shape of the blades? Could the blades be more curved (cupped)? Less curved? DO IT AGAIN! Modify your design but change only one thing at a time!