Today, on November 4th, 40+ fourth/fifth grade students from the Dudley St. Neighborhood Charter School came to learn about the engineering design process. In the morning, students designed, built, and tested the devices to catch falling eggs, rather than protecting the eggs as they fall.
- Nick prepares to drop an egg; student prepares for the worst
- Aiming for a small landing pad is not easy, as the students came to learn when the egg missed and exploded on the ground
In the afternoon, students took turns building paper towers and visiting the earthquake lab, where Alpay Demiryurek explained the physics behind earthquakes, then had the students design and build their own K-NEX structures, and finally tested them on the lab’s earthquake simulator.
- Carlin measures one of the group’s paper towers
- Alpay demonstrates the process by which earthquakes destroy things using an apple and a yard stick
- Orianna helps students design their earthquake resistant building