Lesson 33 of 84 · Engineering and Design

Experiment⭐ 30 XP🛠️ Engineer Shop

Light and Shadows (Part 2)

🧪Lab Brief #33

Engineering and Design.

🎯 Your mission

Set it up. Test it. Be amazed.

⚡ The twist

Constraints make you more creative, not less.

🤯

Mind = Blown

🛠️ The first computer bug was a literal moth stuck inside a machine in 1947.

🔮

Make a hypothesis first

Before you test: how many tries until it works?

What You'll Learn

Mirrors reflect light. When light hits a mirror, it bounces off like a ball bouncing off a wall.

Key Words

design
build

Materials Needed

plastic wrap
cardboard
tape

Safety First

Clean up spills immediately to prevent slipping.
Use materials only as directed in the experiment.

Steps

Step 1 — Read

Read the introduction. What is this lesson about?

Step 2 — Do

Build a tower from spaghetti and marshmallows. Measure how tall you can make it.

Step 3 — Observe

Look for something that changed. What is it?

Step 4 — Record

Circle the correct answer on your worksheet.

Check Your Understanding

Question 1

1 of 3

Why do we record what happens in experiments?

How sure are you going to be?😐 maybe

🌍

Where you see this in real life

Your phone, your bike, your shoes — all designed with this idea.

🏆

Stretch Challenge

Try this in real life this week.

Build something — anything — out of stuff in your recycling bin.

👨‍👩‍👧

For the dinner table

“What's something around the house you'd redesign — and how?”

🎯

Next Smart Experiment

We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.

🧬Share card

Share this experiment

Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.

🖨️

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