Using Engineering Notebooks

Remember Reverse Engineering 
by Cathy K.

Reverse Engineering (RE): "disassemble or analyze in detail in order to discover concepts involved in manufacture." 
- The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, New ed. 2004.

One of the sessions I attended at the E4 Conference was on using writing to document and communicate engineering ideas.  We worked through ideas on how using engineering/science notebooks connect to the ELA standards.

The main activity we did in the session was titled: Pen & Teller, Inc.  We started by writing and sketching in our notebooks our pen observations and what we noticed when we disassembled the pens.  Then we documented how the pen actually worked, using what we knew about springs, locking mechanisms, etc...  At the end, we were given a design challenge.  I enjoyed the learning experience and feel it would be a great reverse engineering project for students at CP.

Here is a glimpse of how the reverse engineering challenge starts:

Click on the link for more details about the activity: https://www.ieee.org/documents/Pen_and_Teller.pdf

To engage the audience in the topic of pens, the presenter used these video clips on Inkjoy pens...

Biomimicry at the E4 Conference

The E4 conference was a great learning experience!  By Michelle

The session I found the most informative was titled Engineering and Nature.  It was lead by a resident expert from the Bell Museum.  The idea behind this session was using animal's adaptations as a spring board for engineering design challenges.  There were three design challenges I participated in and I want to tell you about my favorite, the Bird's Nest.

1.  Bird's Nest Problem: how to construct a nest which can stand 18 inches from the ground, resist wind and protect the bird's eggs from predators.  The challenge was to have the nest withstand windspeed from a fan on level 3.

Using the engineering design process we worked together to create the nest you see below.  It was great to see all of our unique ideas come together.  The real learning and creativity came into effect when we had to modify and adjust our design.

Each group had the opportunity to discuss their strategy and what worked and what didn't work.  Next we were asked to think of birds we knew who had similar nests.  We made the connection between our nest and those found in nature by viewing some images of birds nests as well as looking at some preserved nests.

The design challenge was an investigation into nests and adaptations birds make.  Since Biomimicry is a relatively new idea it was fascinating to explore how these ideas could be used in the classroom.  As I am just beginning to learn about this science I found the following 2 minute video to be very informative.

After exploring the Biomimicry 3.8 website I came upon the following lessons (just click on them) to get started with students.  The final video talks about why Biomimicry is important in education, again very eye opening especially for a STEM school.   Science and Engineering blend so naturally in this discipline.

Learning abut Biomimicry Through Poetry Lessons

Velcro Race Game