Grade 8 CTD Classes, Trimester 1

The Engineering Design Process continued - “Protect the Pringle’

Perhaps you are familiar with the YouTube video of the delivery man, obviously, having a bad day and throwing a package over the tall gate of a house.  I’m sure once the package was opened the contents did not fare well.  Most, if not all, products are delivered to us in some form of packaging. In the case of a fragile item the package has to not only store, but also protect the contents inside.  Apple, in my opinion, has some of the most innovative and creative packages for their products.  Good package design is an art form that involves creativity and good engineering.  To continue our exploration of the Engineering Design Process, grade 8 students were asked to consider the following problem - Design and construct a package that will protect a “Pringle” potato chip from a 2 meter drop and a textbook crush test.  For this project the student were limited to one sheet of 9” X 12” paper and 45 cm of masking tape.  The photographs below show the students sketching, writing, constructing, and testing their way to a successful design.