Engineering Passion Projects
Focusing and sharing your engineering process involves:
Focusing and sharing your engineering process involves:
Look around you!
Look around you!
What problems do people have in their everyday lives that could benefit from a new solution?
What problems do people have in their everyday lives that could benefit from a new solution?
At home
At school
In the community
Sports
Eating/drinking
Babies/seniors
Communication
Pets
Toys
What is a solution that you can think of for this problem?
What is a solution that you can think of for this problem?
Design several solutions -- Each change or new idea is called a "prototype".
"I didn't fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps." -- Thomas Edison
(Even now, are we actually "done" inventing the light bulb?)
Make sure this is something you can do safely with the materials and amount of time that you have available to you. Think about:
Make sure this is something you can do safely with the materials and amount of time that you have available to you. Think about:
How will you measure what happens with each prototype in your investigation?
How will you explain what happens (see "Using Models" below!)
Keep track of each prototype and your results -- This is the most important step in the engineering process!!!
Keep track of each prototype and your results -- This is the most important step in the engineering process!!!
Draw a model (image) of what you think is happening in the investigation of each prototype. Use arrows, colors, labels etc. to explain the Engineering behind what is being observed in the investigation. This should come from the student's head, not from Google!
Draw a model (image) of what you think is happening in the investigation of each prototype. Use arrows, colors, labels etc. to explain the Engineering behind what is being observed in the investigation. This should come from the student's head, not from Google!
(*Your engineering project can also include research -- Just make sure that you go through the prototyping process first before you go to Google to find "the" answer!)
