All subjects blend together in Room 404. We started Tuesday morning with a quick look at different boat styles, and we took a closer look at the keelboat used by the Corps of Discovery. Students discovered the differences between a boat that is meant to carry massive amounts of weight and a boat intended to travel quickly and easily through the water.
When Meriwether Lewis commissioned the keelboat, he needed a vessel that would carry many supplies. The boat had some amazing technological features for the earliest parts of the 18th Century. It had an innovative and practical design. I suppose I expected no less from my students in designing a boat to float dinosaurs in our classroom aquarium of science.
Spoiler alert: sadly, all of the dinosaurs perished in this experiment.
When Meriwether Lewis commissioned the keelboat, he needed a vessel that would carry many supplies. The boat had some amazing technological features for the earliest parts of the 18th Century. It had an innovative and practical design. I suppose I expected no less from my students in designing a boat to float dinosaurs in our classroom aquarium of science.
Spoiler alert: sadly, all of the dinosaurs perished in this experiment.
We began the actual project by making personal designs on paper. It was apparent which students were paying attention and applied a flat-bottomed boat design. After each student presented his/her design to the team, each team selected design features to include in their prototype and final product.
Teams then made prototypes out of regular scrap paper, folding and tearing to construct a three dimensional representation of their designs, before naming the boats and building their final products from single sheets of aluminum foil.
Along the way, our classroom received a visit from the principals, the director of elementary education, and the superintendent of schools. They stayed for a moment to observe the project and get a view of Hoggatt Cave. TARYN did a spectacular job of explaining what we were doing.
Teams then made prototypes out of regular scrap paper, folding and tearing to construct a three dimensional representation of their designs, before naming the boats and building their final products from single sheets of aluminum foil.
Along the way, our classroom received a visit from the principals, the director of elementary education, and the superintendent of schools. They stayed for a moment to observe the project and get a view of Hoggatt Cave. TARYN did a spectacular job of explaining what we were doing.
I'll post the results and some videos in the next few days.
