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Stick Bombs

Janelle and Kendra use craft sticks to build simple but fun "explosions". Put your brain to work with these instructions and use potential and kinetic energy for some fun at home. Bonus tip: it's way more fun to do this activity with a friend!

Materials

  • Large craft sticks - 5 per stick bomb

  • Soft surface like a towel

  • Safety glasses

  • A target

  • A safe place to throw your stick bomb!

Note: Smaller craft sticks can be used, but they are more difficult to put together.

Engineering Notebook question

  • What are the potential and kinetic energies in each of these examples? Riding a rollercoaster, throwing a baseball, and shooting a bow and arrow.

Honeycomb Structures

Design and build a honeycomb structure from paper that can withstand compression but is very lightweight. Work with Alexis and Cindy to understand more about compression, especially how aerospace engineers need to design airplane parts to that can support compression and still be lightweight.

MATERIALS

  • 2-10 Sheets of paper

  • Scissors

  • Tape

  • Textbook or a similar heavy object

  • Cylindrical object about ½ inch to 2 inch in diameter (wide marker, craft paint container, spice container … etc)

ENGINEERING NOTEBOOK QUESTIONS

  • What other shapes, different than cylinders could you try?

  • How does changing the diameter of your cylinder affect your structure?

Tiny Dancers

Warning: Parental guidance needed. Wires and batteries can be dangerous. Make sure you work with an adult.

Make a dancing hot air balloon, airplane, ballerina, or monster with Michelle and Deana. Be careful, this activity is tricky and will require some patience. You will get to experiment with current while you build this homopolar motor. While it is a challenge, it is really fun when you get it to work! You will have a whole new appreciation for electricity and current when you are done.

Materials

  • Neodymium magnets

  • Copper wire

  • AA battery

  • Things to decorate your dancer such as: paper, tissue paper, scissors, markers, tape, etc

  • Wire cutters

  • Pliers

Notes: There is a good amount of tinkering needed in this activity. The wire can not touch the magnets and it can’t be too far away from the magnets. The wire must coil at least once all the way around the magnets. Also it must be very balanced. Testing and adjusting required, just like in real engineering! Every once and a while you may need to flip the magnets on the bottom of the battery to improve spinning power.

Engineering Notebook questions

  • How are homopolar motors used in the real world?

  • What are some other types of motors? What are they used for?

Rapid Prototyping

Learn how to test a design using Rapid Prototyping. How can you design a house, or anything else, but on a smaller scale? Learn with Devin from Future Maker Mobile Learning Lab as he teaches us all about Rapid Prototyping! Interested in mocking up your prototype in a Computer Aided Design (CAD) software like Devin? Check out TinkerCAD! A free CAD software where you can learn and design 3D objects on your computer!

Check out TinkerCAD here!

Find out more about the FutureMaker Lab: Facebook / Instagram

Materials

  • 30 notecards (3x5)

  • Clear Tape

  • Scissors

  • Ruler

  • Customer Spec sheet (Spec Sheet found here)

Engineering Notebook Questions

  • Why build a small scale model first?

  • What else could you make with CAD?

Tensile Bubbles

Bubbles are always a lot of fun but we can make them even more interesting! Make three dimensional bubbles with Jess and Jess to explore surface tension. Who knew science can be so fun, and messy!

Check out more (including instructions on how to make the bubble wands) here

Materials

  • Straws

  • Pipe Cleaners

  • Scissors

  • Bubble Solution (see note below)

  • A container to hold the bubble solution

DIY Bubble Solution!

* When mixing these recipes try not to cause bubbles to form on the surface of the solution. Those bubbles will interfere with your wands.

Bubble solution using glycerin

  • 6 cups water

  • 1 cup Dawn dish soap

  • 1 Tbsp glycerin

Bubble solution using corn syrup

  • 6 cups water

  • 1 cup Dawn dish soap

  • ¼ cup corn syrup

You can always use store bought bubble solution, though it may be a little bit weaker than the homemade solutions.

Engineering Notebook questions

  • What would happen if you used other shapes?

  • Draw the shapes that you would use and what you think would happen!

Slime

Join Tyllor and Gavin as they make some fun slime and feel how adding an activator can change the slime mixture and cause crosslinking of polymers. This means that the consistency of the slime changes- and makes the goop more like slime. How did you make your slime?

Materials

  • 1 tsp baking soda

  • 4 oz glue

  • 3 Tbsp contact solution plus extra

  • Gloves

  • Bowl

  • Spoon or spatula

Notes: Different glue will need a different amount of contact solution. If your slime seems too sticky after stirring for a few minutes, add contact solution a Tablespoon at a time, stirring after each addition, until you get to the right consistency. It should feel a little sticky to the touch, but not actually stick to your fingers.

Engineering Notebook questions

  • What ingredients are used in other slime recipes?

  • In the other recipes, which ingredients are the polymers and which are the activators?

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