The tiny tots of chaos
Students take on the role of scientists
They investigate different ways they can make pom poms, magnets, toy cars, and paper balls move. Were students throwing paper balls around my room? Yes. But they made it move and could tell me it was a push!
Students take on the role of engineers
I started with this book, Demolition, written by Sally Sutton.
As we read, I would ask students if the machines were pushing or pulling while they were demolishing the building.
I presented students with a scenario: There's an old building in your town that needs to be demolished in order to build a new park. You will design a machine that can help the town by tearing down the old building. Your machine must use a push, or a pull, or both to get the job done.
Of course, most teams decided to build something similar to a wrecking ball. We tested our designs with a stack of mouthwash cups. This was perfect because
they just learned about cup stacking with the PE teacher the rotation before.
Design and build a transport system for the Little Red hen
Build something you can pull
In this story, The Little Red Hen grew wheat and transported it to the mill so she could get flour. I gave them the scenario: Little Red Hen's wheelbarrow broke and she needs a new tool for transporting her wheat and flour.
We talk through very simple criteria for the design. It must be made of two parts
- A wheat and flour holder - must be able to hold the wheat and flour without falling off
- A handle - must be able to pull the design by the handle to move it
Help Ricky the Rock Roll
Design something you can push
Ricky the Rock That Couldn't Roll
Ricky is a flat rock and he wishes he could roll like all the other rocks. In the story, Ricky's friends used mud and other materials to make his flat spot round.
I gave each kiddos a large rock that was not perfectly round and challenged them to create a design that could help their rock become more round. Materials I gave them were felt, construction paper, aluminum foil, fabrics strips, rubber bands, and tape.
Students lined up on the carpet with their rock and gave it a push to test their designs.
Gravity Mazes
Create a game that uses the pull of gravity
Students created their mazes using strips of construction paper and a paper plate. It took some modeling to show them how to only glue the ends of the paper, which makes the arch. I gave each kiddo a pom pom and let the fun begin!
Moving Magnet pictures
Create a work of art that moves with the power of magnets
Students design a backdrop using a paper plate. On a small piece of cardstock, they craft an object that they can maneuver across their backdrop. I attached a paper clip to the back of the cardstock image, allowing the object to be attracted to the plate with a magnet placed on the back of the plate.
Students move the magnet on the back of the plate and voilà! You have a magical moving picture!
Making Predictions about bubbles
To get students thinking, we started by sorting pictures of bubbles doing different things. Students had to decide if a bubble could or could not do that in real life. This easy cut-and-paste activity would be the anchor for our future investigations.
Testing Predictions
To check if their predictions were correct, students attempted to recreate the images on their chart. We focused on 4 a class period. After students determined whether their bubble could or could not do things like stick to their skin, be smaller than a penny, or fold in half, they recorded the results in their Bubble Journal.
Thinking about bubble wands
To get students ready for their own bubble blower engineering project, we start looking at different bubble wands. Students investigate whether the shape of the bubble wand determines the shape of the bubble.
Engineering bubble blowers
For the final piece of this project, students get to engineer their own bubble blowers. I supply them with materials that they can pick from like straws, twist ties, pipe cleaners, and popsicle sticks. Students move through the engineering design process to create, test, and improve their bubble wands. Students quickly figure out that pipe cleaners and using tape are not the best choices, since they become soggy when wet. But I let THEM figure that out!
The best choices were the popsicle stick or straw and twist tie. Students often used two twist ties. One to form the bubble blower a and one to secure it to the straw or popsicle stick.
Want to try this out with your kiddos?
Grab this Splash-tastic Adventure into Science and Engineering!
Students engage as scientists to investigate bubbles.
- Make Hypotheses: What can bubble do and not do?
- Test Hypotheses through bubble blowing
- Dig Deeper: Can a bubble ever be a shape other than round?
Students act as engineers to construct a bubble blower.
- Students select from easily accessible materials to build their bubble blower
- Test the bubble blower and evaluate it based on simple criteria
- Improve bubble blower design
What's Included:
- A 16-page Editable Canva Presentation that walks the teacher and students through the project
- Word and PDF versions of student materials so you can make this project fit your kiddos! Student materials include: Bubble Prediction cut-and-paste activity, My Bubble Journal for student data collection, Investigating Bubble Shapes handout, Bubble Blower Evaluation handout
- Teacher Tips