CONSTRUCTION TECHNOLOGY -  Structures, Constructing Balsa Wood Towers

This trimester I teach only one grade 7 C.T.D. class, but we still had a lot of fun learning about structures, loads, forces and constructing balsa wood towers.  The photographs below provides an overview of the design, construction and testing process  Once the students had an understanding of types of structures, trusses, loads and forces they were provided with a design brief for the lesson and off they went.  All six teams were able to support the maximum load of 270 lbs.  Very impressive for structures with an average weight of 33 grams.

The design phase.  Students create drawings of their tower design.

The construction phase.  Students construct the towers

The testing phase

CTD CLASS - EGG CAR TEST DAY, Trimester 1

If you walked into room 104 last week and it smelled like scrambled eggs there was a good reason. Grade 8 students were in the process of testing their "EGG CARS".  It must be a little exciting and nerve-wracking to stand before the class and let go of your car for its short ride down the ramp and into the cinder block.  Will your solution work?    Or after impact, will the egg resemble Humpty Dumpty. Either way it's all about gathering data in the learning process.  What material(s) from the allowed list protected the egg the best?  Did one design perform better than another?  What if your design spun halfway down the ramp and had a side impact? Did you account for that wrinkle?  As I've stated before, engineering involves trial and error and redesign. Good job everyone there were some "eggcelent" designs.