May 3: Humpty Dumpty & Sensing Changes in Energy Research

We're making sure that gravity is still in effect on Earth by doing an egg drop. Students will design a container to protect Humpty Dumpty as he falls off the main stairs of the school. They will be practicing their engineering as well as observing forces in action. I love these kinds of projects because it demonstrates the amazing creativity of the students. They come up with the most amazing ideas! I'm excited to see how the parachute made with facecards, the twinkie filled box, and the corn syrup pool hold up. It should be pretty fun! 

They will also spend the week doing a research project in the library on technologies that sense changes in energy. We've already discussed how our own bodies detect and react to changes in light energy (eyes), sound kinetic energy (ears), and other forms of kinetic energy (skin). Now we'll look in to how technology has made it possible for us to detect changes in energy that we can't easily detect with our own senses. Students will learn about hearing aids, ultrasounds, Doppler radar, etc. Each student will have one technology to research and will share what they've learned in small groups after the research is complete. This week will be an introduction, while next week they will really get to get into the books and to do computer research on their topic.