Science 7 Design Engineering Challenge

Under the guidance of teachers Dawn Card, Ian Clark, Maura Foley, and Jen Stauffer, all Science 7 students participated in a design engineering challenge during the final weeks of school.

After learning about the steps of the design engineering process, students were divided into small groups to research strategies and construct earthquake-resistant building prototypes. Students were assessed based on their research, 2D and 3D prototype construction, quality of predictions, prototype testing results, presentation skills, and analysis of results. In addition to incorporating EQ-resistant strategies into their prototypes, students considered stakeholder needs and sustainability during the design process.

The four teachers took varied approaches to dividing the students into groups and assigning roles. Ms. Stauffer shared that her approach was to divide her class into three companies of 4-5 students. Each company selected and researched a different earthquake prone locale. Companies then broke into even smaller construction teams of 2 students, ultimately creating several prototypes within a single company. After a round of “rough draft” prototype construction, companies compared all of the builds produced by their internal teams. Companies then had the option to iterate or hybridize their prototypes before finally testing them on “Shakezilla” (the nickname bestowed on our earthquake simulator).

Despite considerable design constraints (such as size limits, required use of reclaimed materials, limits on adhesives, etc.), NONE of the seventh graders’ buildings failed— even when subjected to the highest intensity earthquakes Shakezilla could dish out! Ms. Card, Mr. Clark, Ms. Foley, and Ms. Stauffer may need to up the ante with a more extreme shake table. Perhaps improving upon the design of the shake table itself will be the next challenge for these budding engineers. (Shall we call it “Shakezilla 2.0”?) Great job, sevies!!! Your teachers really enjoyed doing this project with you… and based on your enthusiasm and outstanding performance, it is evident that you did too!