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Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related institutions.
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On Wed, Jul 2, 2008 at 12:07 PM, Beryl Rosenthal <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
> institutions.
>
> *****************************************************************************
>
> We have used Googleplex, with mixed results.  I guess the questions for me
> (given what I hear teachers say) would be, why would you book a fieldtrip
> when you can buy the product anywhere and do it in your classroom?  Now,
> obviously, there are more benefits than we can imagine to a visit, but the
> idea of utilizing a commercially available product does raise the issue.  I
> would prefer to utilize a mix of materials and found objects to increase the
> creativity factor.
> Beryl
>
> Kristin Qualls wrote:
>
>> ISEN-ASTC-L is a service of the Association of Science-Technology Centers
>> Incorporated, a worldwide network of science museums and related
>> institutions.
>>
>> *****************************************************************************
>>
>> A question for the ASTC brain trust...
>>
>> I'm looking into using K'nex for a set of design challenge workshops.
>>  These workshops aim to teach kids about the engineering process, have 40-60
>> kids each, one facilitator with a helper or two, and range from 3-12 grade.
>>
>> Does anyone out there have experience with K'nex to share?  Or another
>> type of kit that would be appropriate?
>>
>> Thanks so much for your help,
>> Kristin
>>
>
To ensure that all parts fit together without tools, you give up significant
design flexibility with any of the toy systems.  Legos are the most obvious
- analogous to drawing with pixels - but Kinex has the same issue.  It's
easy to build what the kit is designed to build, but not so easy to build
something else.   You can to some extent resolve the issue by making big
things, so that the individual parts (the "pixels") are small with respect
to the object created, but that comes at a significant cost in materials
needed.  It's no accident that the coolest Kinex things are really big -
their ferris wheel, for example.

I would encourage you to consider designing with really simple, but flexible
materials.  Paper and cardboard can bring a green/recycling element to your
design and you can inspire students with some creations that have been made
by real designers using these materials.  There's also an episode of Design
Squad that features cardboard furniture
http://pbskids.org/designsquad/challenges/s2-ep1.html

Jonah mentioned bridges. The USMA has a great bridge activity that not only
involves building a bridge out of file folders, but also testing the
materials and bridge elements individually before making your own design.
http://bridgecontest.usma.edu/manual.htm  and here's a real one:
http://spluch.blogspot.com/2007/07/bridge-made-of-paper-unveiled-in.html


-- 
David L. Smith
Da Vinci Science Center
Allentown, PA
http://www.davinci-center.org

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