1. Junk Box Wars: Revisited
"To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk."
Thomas Edison
Presented at CSTA Conference
October 13, 2012 by
Laura Rodriguez
Hall Memorial School
Willington, CT

2. THE ENGINEERING DESIGN PROCESS

3. Three phases of solving problems:
Defining and delimiting engineering problems involves stating the problem to be solved as clearly as possible in terms of criteria for success and constraints, or limits.
Designing solutions to engineering problems begins with generating a number of different possible solutions, evaluating potential solutions to see which ones best meet the criteria and constraints of the problem, then testing and revising the best designs.
Optimizing the design solution involves a process of tradeoffs, in which the final design is improved by trading off less important features for those that are more important. This may require a number of iterations before arriving at the best possible design.

4. Engineering Design Essential Questions at each Grade Level
K–2: What are different ways to solve problems and meet challenges?
3–5: How can people work together to create better designs?
6–8: How can different solutions to problems be compared, tested, and refined to arrive at the best design?
9–12: How are quantitative investigations, analyses, and simulations used to define problems, and develop and refine solutions?

5. Junkyard Wars
Each episode takes place in a huge, specially constructed junkyard, where two teams of engineers and mechanics get ten hours to build machines scrounged from junk. Later, the teams put their contraptions to the test in a competition
5 Episodes on
Mechanical Monsters - Students drive remote control vehicles up steep ramps covered in different substances such as mud and sandpaper to determine the fastest surface. Then, teams compete to build and race monster trucks and climbing cars
Cool Cars: Teams build drag racers and all-terrain vehicles
Wild Watercraft: Teams build power boats and power rafts
Wind Machines: This episode consists of two competitions. In one, teams build working gliders and in the other, they build sand yachts and sailboats with wheels that are designed to race on land
Air Movers: Teams build hovercraft and street sweepers.

6. JUNK BOX WARS Junkyard Wars for the Classroom
Science Spot Junk Box Wars
Science Rocks 8
Think about it? – Planning page
Wrapping it Up – Reflection
Rubric

7. Junk Boxes: Forces – Tension, compression, gravity, weight
The Weakest Link- Build the longest chain that will hold the most weight
Bridge Challenge – Build a bridge that will support the most weight
Super Structures – Build a structure that will hold the most pennies

8. Junk Box: Motion - Speed acceleration, Newton’s Laws
Zoom Machines – Create a “Zoom machine” that will travel a distance of 4 meters in the shortest amount of time
Battle of the Boats – Create a boat that will travel a specified distance in the shortest amount of time
Magnificent Marble Maze – Create a marble maze that will take the longest time for a marble to complete

9. Junk Box: Energy Conversion, Work and Buoyancy
Whirling Wonders – Create a wheel powered by water that will pull the greatest amount of string
Super Subs – Create a submarine that will sink and come to the surface in the shortest amount of time

10. CHALLENGE TIMELNE Day 1 ( 20 MIN): Introduce and Explain Challenge
Students Brainstorm ideas
Complete “Think It” overnight
Day 2 (80 MIN):
Students choose design
Students build it, test it, modify design
Day 3 (40 MIN):
Final fixes and competition
Students complete “Wrap it Up”

11. References http://sciencespot.net/Pages/junkboxprojects.html