Marshmallow+towers

What problems do you want to solve?
 * use the classic Engineering Design Process - ask, imagine, design / build (plan/ create / experiment), improve
 * build a tower with marshmallows and toothpicks

Engineering Design Process
 * [|NASA Now: Designing a New Martian Rover] (video 6:20) - Aerospace engineer Jennifer Keyes shows how NASA engineers developed "TumbleCup," a concept rover capable of traveling large distances on Mars. Engineering Design Process (4:33) - ask, imagine, plan, create, experiment, improve - YouTube
 * [|Engineering Design Process form] - Google docs


 * What's the problem?**

[|Marshmallow Towers] (video 1:47) - Lucie and Bianca teach kids concepts of architecture and structural engineering through marshmallow towers
 * build the tallest stable structure you can with 50 mini-marshmallows and 100 toothpicks


 * Ask** - What? Ask questions, understand the need, identify the problem, define
 * What is the problem to solve? How will we know when we solved the problem?
 * What is already known?
 * Are there guidelines for what we can or can't do?


 * Imagine** - So what? Imagine, brainstorm, explore, discover
 * What are some other ideas for solutions to similar problems? * [|examples] of towers and tall buildings, trusses, triangle - Pinterest board * [|tallest buildings and structures] in the world - Wikipedia
 * How is this problem different from the examples?
 * Which ideas might work for solving this problem?


 * Design, Build** - Plan, Create, Experiment - Now what? Plan, design. Do it. Create, try it out
 * What are some ideas to include in the design?
 * What does the best possible solution look like?
 * Make a prototype, and test it.
 * Does the prototype look like to plan? Does it still meet the requirements?


 * Improve** - If this then what? Improve, make it better
 * Is this a good solution to the problem? Could it be better? How could this be improved?
 * How were each of the 4Cs - creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, communication - used during the project?
 * How does the Engineering Design Process help?


 * That's engineering**
 * triangles are stronger than squares
 * make things strong - use trusses, or framing
 * calculate the forces on a free-standing triangle or square, and prove that shapes other than triangles are statically indeterminate.
 * for a static system, all the forces must balance out: The sum of all forces acting on the system must be zero. Which also means that: 1) the sum of the horizontal components of the forces equals zero 2) the sum of the vertical components of the forces equals zero

> forces, static system, truss, geometry, triangle, parallel, stability, materials, visualization, base, support, weight, strength, stability, symmetry, horizontal, vertical, components
 * Engineering ideas**

Challenges for you to work on...
 * Do It**
 * How was the Engineering Design Process used in the example of the tumblecup video?
 * Build the tallest stable structure you can with 50 mini-marshmallows and 100 toothpicks
 * Look at the towers made by other groups. What did they do differently? Are there some ideas that you could add to your tower to improve it?
 * Take pictures, record your findings and suggestions for improvement
 * Make a presentation including pictures, instructions for others to do this project on their own
 * What are some interesting man-made structures and objects? What were the questions the engineers asked for each step in the Engineering Design Process?


 * News, updates**


 * Learn more...**
 * [|ScienceDays] Cambridge Summer Tour 2008 - [|lesson plan], [|structures]
 * Spaghetti tower - Materials simplified - 15 sticks of uncooked thin spaghetti and 30 mini-marshmallows Many forces ... with the marshmallow and stick in the sticks. Redesign to correct for any structural flaws - Think about all of the ways ... spaghetti. Marshmallows. 100 cm (1 m) of masking tape. Scissors (to cut spaghetti). Science journal. Pencil
 * Prototyping will come back - let cyclical process nothing physically to start - lots of recorded info Marshmallow ... thin spaghetti and 30 mini-marshmallows What's the problem? Ask * Imagine * Design, Build * Improve Ask - clarification ok to break spaghetti, marshmallows time limit must be moveable - not stuck
 * Society of Women Engineers SWE "marshmallow" astronauts 1K. Engineering Accessories - Learn the unique properties of polymers and identify
 * Force-absorbing system out of paper, straws, and mini-marshmallows; attach the shock absorber to a cardboard platform
 * Engineering Design Process being on the inside of your process a bit more. Marshmallow Challenge - identifying the assumptions

..2e