Lesson 80 of 84 · Engineering and Design
Experiment⭐ 30 XP🛠️ Engineer ShopStarting an Investigation (Part 4)
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
An investigation is a careful study to answer a question. What would you like to investigate?
Key Words
Tap a word to see its definition.
Materials Needed
- rubber bands
- string
- cups
- aluminum foil
- ruler
Safety First
- Wear safety goggles when mixing liquids.
Steps
Talk about what you already know about Engineering and Design.
Design a container that keeps an ice cube from melting for as long as possible.
Compare what happened to what you predicted.
Tell the class one thing you learned today.
Check Your Understanding
Question 1
1 of 3Why do scientists compare things?
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 this experiment
Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.
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