{"id":4400,"date":"2015-11-06T18:00:24","date_gmt":"2015-11-06T22:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=4400"},"modified":"2017-03-20T14:53:17","modified_gmt":"2017-03-20T18:53:17","slug":"design-challenge-takes-force-and-motion-lessons-to-new-heights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/design-challenge-takes-force-and-motion-lessons-to-new-heights\/","title":{"rendered":"Design challenge takes force and motion lessons to new heights"},"content":{"rendered":"

Orville and Wilbur Wright\u2019s path to flight more than 100 years ago was not without challenges.<\/p>\n

Creeds Elementary School fifth-graders can relate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis stapler is out of staples,\u201d said Ashlyn Freeman\u00a0trying to bind together two triangular pieces of aluminum foil.<\/p>\n

Minor mechanical difficulties.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_5121<\/a>With a new strip of staples, Freeman completed her first creation and took it to the school hallway for a test flight.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt kind of looks weird, but I think it will work,\u201d said Freeman with cautious optimism.<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

She thought heavier paper would improve the flight, building a similar model with construction paper. The next test run still left room for improvement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I need to add this,\u201d Freeman said grabbing a pipe cleaner from the center of her group\u2019s table. \u201cIt needs to be heavier. I need to create drag,\u201d she explained as she looped and pinched the pipe cleaner under the center of the wings.<\/p>\n

Staples, tinfoil, construction paper and pipe cleaners may not have been on the Wright brothers\u2019 supply list; however, the problem-solving and refining demonstrated by the fifth-graders were likely similar to the famous siblings.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_5149<\/a>A design challenge associated with the lessons about force, motion and energy tasked students with creating three airplanes: one to fly slow through the air, one to fly far and one to fly fast.<\/p>\n

They visited the Military Aviation Museum three miles from their school to view the design of various planes and discuss with pilots and engineers how certain variables impact flight.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe showed them the Wright flyer model, the yellow Stearman and the P-51 Mustang,\u201d said Joe Badali, museum volunteer and retired school principal.<\/p>\n

Students learned that the cloth and multiple struts on the Wright flyer\u2019s wings made for a slower-flying plane, while the P-51 flew up to 400 miles per hour in World War II. \u201cIt has a clean, high performance metal design without sticks or rags,\u201d Badali said of the fighter plane in museum\u2019s hanger.<\/p>\n

Using only materials selected in advance by their teachers, Creeds students applied lessons learned to design and construct planes to fly the following day at the aviation museum.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_5143<\/a>\u201cAerodynamics is one of the big things,\u201d said a student placing a toothpick at the tip of his plane\u2019s design.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s use popsicle sticks to create drag and slow it down,\u201d advised another student to her partners.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe wings need to be slanted to go farther,\u201d determined one student after a test flight in the hallway.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019re going to need this after all,\u201d said a student holding a hole puncher she initially thought would be valuable.<\/p>\n

Critical thinking, collaboration and problem solving were in the air.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was so fascinating to see the students come up with a design, test it, get feedback and refine multiple times before finally settling on their designs,\u201d said principal Casey Conger.<\/p>\n

Students were quick to praise museum volunteers who came to Creeds to assist them during the construction phase.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pilots were so helpful and gave us good ideas,\u201d said Francesa Ashburn. \u201cThey helped us when we were confused, but they didn\u2019t just give us the answers. We had to take the advice and figure it out for ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sam Dockieweicz had a similar experience. \u201cThe pilots taught me that when I was testing my design I should only change one thing at a time. I had added paper clips and made the wings longer, but then when I tested it, I wasn\u2019t sure which one made the difference,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I changed one thing at a time I could then see which variable made the difference and make the necessary changes.\u201d<\/p>\n

When flight day arrived, museum volunteers set up a runway marked by orange cones 10 feet apart inside the Navy hanger. Team by team, students launched their three designs from the second-floor mezzanine while their classmates recorded data related to each flight.<\/p>\n

Watch fifth-grader Anna Wells launch her design to fly the farthest:<\/p>\n