Engineering 5-11
This is a list of resources specifically selected to support the Polar Explorer Project.
Ocean Grabber
In this resource learners will explore why scientists are engaged in research at the bottom of the Antarctic and Arctic Oceans. They will understand the importance of collecting samples of organisms that make the sea floor their home and what these can tell us about global concerns.
Design a boat
Water pushes upwards with a force called ‘upthrust’. (You can feel this if you try to push a light object such as a balloon or aeroboard under water). The shape of a ‘boat’ affects the weight (passengers/cargo) it can hold. The more water that the boat displaces the more it will float and therefore the more weight it can take.
This lesson examines the relationship between the shape of a boat and the amount of passengers it holds. Children will investigate different shaped boats to discover the best design.
Welding with Chocolate
This activity gives students the opportunity to build structures made from chocolate. In the example given, a box-section is compared with a flat plank of chocolate, to see which is the strongest when spanning a gap. The structures are readily related to the context of bridge-building.
Students join flat pieces of chocolate using 'welds' made by melting the chocolate using a bottle of hot water.
The activity is simple and can be used to demonstrate ideas such as the strength of structures, welding, melting, reversible change, strength testing and the properties of materials. It is suitable for primary and secondary school students. The complexity of the task, and the structures built, can be readily tailored for individual groups.
Periscope
Aimed at primary level, this activity links to the topic of light. Using the fact that light reflects away from a mirror at the same angle that it hits the mirror, children follow a set of instructions to design and make a periscope to look around corners.
Nice Ideas in One Place: Volume One
Page 11 contains Centicube activity in which students try to make plasticine boats that will hold the maximum amount of centicubes without sinking.
Ticket to Ride
The activity on page 12 is to design and test a paddleboat made from an empty carton and powered by an elastic bands. Boats can be tested for by varying the load they can carry, without sinking. Children can also race their boats and consider ways in which they may be modified to go faster.
Whatever Floats Your Boat
In this floating boat challenge, students are to build a boat that can float and support 25 pennies for at least 10 seconds —without leaking, sinking, or tipping over. Each team has access to some plastic wrap, plastic straws, paper cups, duct tape and 25 pennies. Students do not have to use all of the materials in constructing their boats. They must use the materials wisely, though: there are no replacements for tangled-up duct tape or cut up paper cups. Each team receives a tub of water that they can use to test the effectiveness of their boat.
Loading Cargo
Have you ever travelled on a large vehicle ferry? How are the vehicles loaded? Why do you think it matters which vehicles go on first or where they are put on the car deck?If you are loading cargo (into a rucksack, onto a boat, onto a plane etc.) it’s important to balance the load. If the load isn’t balanced properly, not only is there danger of tipping over, it impairs movement.
In this unit learners will explore the balancing point of a boat when adding cargo and how this can be overcome with a keel (particularly a weighted one).
Ice breaker
In this resource learners will explore the relationship between a ship’s hull and the job it does. In particular, the lesson will look at the difficult job a polar ship faces when having to break through sea ice and the importance of the design of the shape of the hull. Learners will also examine the forces acting on a polar ship.
RRS James Clark Ross in Antarctica
This film features RSS James Clark Ross which is primarily a marine research vessel for biological, oceanographic and geophysical cruises. It is equipped with a suite of laboratories and winch systems that allows scientific equipment to be deployed astern or amidships.