Kindergarten Solved A Problem

Our K-Mauka class had a problem. The stylus' for their iPads kept rolling out of their mailboxes. Also, every time a group needed their stylus', each student had to go get their own. The students and teachers knew their had to be a better way. So they brainstormed what could be done to solve the problem.

Enter the Lower School FabLab...We brought the class into the Lab, and using the engineering design process, came up with a plan.
     *The stylus' need to be in a container.
     *There are 3 different work groups so we would need 3 different containers
     *Each group would need to decide on a shape & size for the container and what material it would
        be made out of.

Each group met to solve their problem:
     Red group wanted a rectangular box made of plastic
     Yellow group wanted a cylinder made out of wood
     Blue group wanted an oval box made out of metal

So the Lab created a mini prototype of the rectangular and cylinder box. We don't have the ability to work with metal, so that created an additional problem for the Blue group the next time we would meet.

At our next session, the students looked at their mini prototypes and had the challenge of figuring out what dimensions their final box would have. Blue group also needed to pick a different plastic. With guidance from the teacher, and use of rulers and drawings, each group came up with measurements for their box. Also, the red group changed their material from plastic to wood.

After the students left, the Lab created "real size" prototypes for each group. Our next step would be to see if the dimensions we picked were good or if we had to make more improvements.

The students came back to the Lab and tested the prototypes. Each group got their prototype and put their stylus in them to see if they were the right size. Each group realized that their original size needed to be adjusted. We noted the changes and the next step is to make the "real" containers.

The box and the cylinder were made on the laser cutter. The students are going to glue them pieces together and then test them again by putting their stylus inside. The oval container was made on the 3D printer. 

The children glued the cylinder and box together in their classroom. They then tested all the containers to see if they would hold the stylus'. Each one was great and their problem was solved.