Lesson 41 of 84 · Engineering and Design
Experiment⭐ 30 XP🛠️ Engineer ShopClimate Data: Reading the Past (Part 2)
Engineering and Design.
🎯 Your mission
Run the experiment. Find out what really happens.
⚡ The twist
The first design always fails. That's the point.
Mind = Blown
🚀 The Saturn V rocket burned 20 tons of fuel per second at liftoff.
Make a hypothesis first
Guess: what's the weakest part of this build?
What You'll Learn
Climate data from ice cores, tree rings, and ocean sediments helps scientists understand past climate patterns and predict future changes.
Key Words
- criteria
- iteration
- wavelength
Materials Needed
- paper clips
- rubber bands
- string
- cups
Safety First
- Wash hands after handling materials.
- Be careful with scissors — ask an adult for help if needed.
Steps
Review the background information on Engineering and Design before starting.
Design a device that can protect an egg from a 2-meter drop. You may use paper, tape, straws, and cotton. Test it and improve your design.
Draw a detailed diagram of what you observe.
Write a conclusion: what did your results show? Did they match your prediction?
Check Your Understanding
Question 1
1 of 3What is wavelength?
Where you see this in real life
Every bridge, building, and gadget you've ever used started with this.
Stretch Challenge
Try this in real life this week.
Find something that's broken at home and try to figure out *why* it broke.
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.
Checkout complete lesson on Engineering and Design for 6th Grade
Get the full Engineering and Design track as a printable PDF — all lessons, worksheets, and answer keys.