Third Grade Engineering Challenges

Third graders are working through a series of three design challenges. The first is to build a snowplow that will move the most snow. Students work through our design steps of Ask, Imagine, Plan, Create, and Improve. Their snowplow needs to stay together when picked up on the tables. Next, students record the data as they try to push their snowplows through light snow (Styrofoam pieces), medium snow (Legos), and heavy snow (wet paper towels).

Their second challenge involves paper engineering and their third challenge will bring the computer into the design process as they design 3D houses in Google Sketch-up. Google Sketch-up is a free download from Google.