Calling for ideas!
This is for 4th & 5th graders. Parent comes in and tells the kids about their profession.
I did it last year. I stated the problem: -Stuffed rabbit, by the name of Bloaty, needed to get from the floor to the table. He could go up an incline or a rope or …we could build a miniture staircase. So I we measured the rise, figured the run, layed it out on a 1×6 with a framing square and showed off the finished product…….a little staircase! It showed the kids the need to share ideas, perform math, draw out ideas, (plans) select materials, use tools, and bingo! Empowerment!
Now this is demonstated to five different groups. It has to be funny, fast, and have a great wow! factor. After all, these are kids.
The kids liked my “act” overall. I beat out a CPA, an Ad-man, a Cop, a Doctor and some other office types.
So….something new? Like I said, it has to be practical, yet very funny and cool!
Replies
Porn star?
J. D. Reynolds
Home Improvements
I'll take that as a compliment.......
Actually.....I was going for the "very funny" in your requirements.
But hey.....take it any way you please.
; )
J. D. ReynoldsHome Improvements
Build a project in front of the class and let them keep it in their classroom.^^^^^^
a Smith & Wesson beats four Aces
Porn star?<<<
Get yer porn star name..
1-yer pets name
2- the name of yer street
My porn star name would be
"Chakra Goose Hill"....lol
ooppsss...sorry for the hijack
http://WWW.CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
My name would be Montana Rockwood.
"Lilly Wesley"
Hmmmmm.
Forrest
So these stairs were at about 1/2 to 1/3 scale?
What about a small bridge or maybe even a small house or building.
I like what you're doing by the way. I think the kids of today are losing the abilitiy to build things by just using their minds and their hands. Everything, like Legos, comes with directions and a specific item to build. Creativity is slowly being eliminated.
“The richest genius, like the most fertile soil, when uncultivated, shoots up into the rankest weeds..” – Hume
1/5 scale....
I had thought of a bridge..........build several so we can watch 'em fail...........
but I'm not an bridge builder. Perhaps a little house, but I don't want to go to the "doll-house-zone"
Dog house? Bird House?
Or how about a scaled-down skateboard ramp/half pipe. That will let you introduce radius, angle, etc.
I had half the neighbor kids watching that project last summer although they really just wanted it done and weren't as interested in my curve layout method. :-)
Or how about a scaled-down skateboard ramp/half pipe.
That's the perfect idea. They'll have full interest plus a couple will probably go home and try it out. “The richest genius, like the most fertile soil, when uncultivated, shoots up into the rankest weeds..” – Hume
Use tools to take apart something interesting.Some kids have never seen the inside of a computer for exampleThen let the kids take apart the teacher's computer ;)^^^^^^
a Smith & Wesson beats four Aces
A working catapult. Then launch some eggs at a target.
it teaches principles of motion, levers, force/mass/velocity, trajectory . . . and biology.
i had a roommate who became a veterinarian. His undergrad was in the sciences . . . he used to have a gig going to different schools as Mr. Science and doing experiments in front of the kids. One thing he learned: never underestimate the power of a good explosion or wanton act of destruction as an attention-getter.
Catapult...........that punches holes in drywall.......... using the teachers computer.....loaded with porn......mmm...that's good.......
O.K. Now this is going to happen inside a classroom........and it has to happen within 30-40 min and 5 times in a row.
Any ideas on sources for designs? I'd like to show the before, production, and outcome (bam!)
Thanks for the help guys.
I like the catapult--very simple, but some important concepts regarding the machine and trajectories. You could probably get the school administration to buy off on launching raw eggs at a target. You could also have each student to try out his/her own catapult--a spoon with a bunch of ping pong balls. (This part would depend on the group of students.) Your local Salvation Army (or equivalent) would be a good place to get the spoons cheap.
For future reference, check out Bill Nye the Science Guy. Your library probably has some of his video tapes, or perhaps he's still shown on PBS in your area. Hands-on science, funny, 30 minutes (including song). Might get some ideas.
Thanks for doing this kind of thing!! It's what the schools should be doing for science all the time.
Kathleen
Man, I hate to interject this, BUT, in this day and time of zero tolerance laws, if just one parent complained about the catapult, translate : WEAPON, on the school campus, you're dirt. There's no friggin' defence. I'm speaking from our community where a kid was expelled for having two steak knives in the bed of his pickup, remnants of a camping trip over the weekend.
I HATE all of this "correctness". Zero Tolerance laws scare me to death.
Greg
Greg.........I hadn't thought of that.........
Perhaps I could call it "an egg delivery system"
?
The important thing is to come up with a cool project that demonstrates:
Problem solving: imagination w/ realistic outcomes
Planning (Archy; Engineer; Drafting)
Production: materials and tools / skills .......the need for clever people with real skills!
demonstration
...just one parent complained about the catapult ... you're dirt.
As long as the teacher(s) and principal buy in on it, the OP is off the hook. And if you get a few parents to attend, anyone who tries to complain will get shut down pretty quickly by those who attended.
The "egg delivery system" is a great title though!
Kathleen
I was just wonderin how the program went?^^^^^^
a Smith & Wesson beats four Aces
thanks for asking...........
we do it next thursday. I'm still working on the trebucket (capapult) but I need to come up with an alternative.
the "nannys" are murmering about the weapon aspect requardless of me flinging biskets or eggs or jellybeans.........
hmm.....I guess wood carving with sharp tools is out also.......
so I'm still open to ideas!
How about a Rube Goldberg machine.http://www.rgmc.com/^^^^^^
a Smith & Wesson beats four Aces
well now...........that's a thought......
could be fun........
I don't know what age group...with jr. high kids in the engineering dept. we would give them all a box of identical materials and see which team could make the strongest bridge. We would load them to failure. With several groups we even used pretzel sticks for members and gumdrops for pin connections. With this scheme the bridges were weighed first and a ratio of weight/strength was used. Best part is they get to eat the bridge when they're done.
Last year you got the rabbit to the table. This year show them how to gut, skin, and eat it! :>)
a guy that works with me did that today... he took my hyd over electric punch... and let the kids punch holes in 1/4" thick steel plate... they got to keep the slug... he beat out cops with dogs that were give'n away candy...
guy at my girls school brought a sheet of drywall and let kids knock a hole in it with a hammer... went over very well
p
My kid brother worked for GTE in Oklahoma City for a time. Telephone guy, you know. Well he went to Career Day at his daughter's school. Did the tomato soup can-and-a-string thing like a telephone. So he's talking away, trying to show the kids how this thing worked, when, suddenly, "Oops, I've got another call"
Reached into the soup can, pulled out a Dixie Cup, also on a string, - kept talking.
Good stuff !
Greg
Reached into the soup can, pulled out a Dixie Cup, also on a string, - kept talking
That sounds like a Carrot-Top joke.
I remember when I was a kid, a guy brought in a back hoe with a drill attachment. He went down about 4'. The drill was packed with dirt - looked like a core sample. We could see all of the different layers of soil below. Still remember that from 33 years ago. “The richest genius, like the most fertile soil, when uncultivated, shoots up into the rankest weeds..” – Hume