On Tuesday, students were challenged to build a boat from the following supplies:
- a sheet of tin foil
- plastic straws
- Popsicle sticks
- a piece of paper
- tape
Students worked in teams to design and build the boat. They then tested it in a tub of water and added passengers (buttons). We talked about how the buttons were a good representation of real passengers because they came in all sizes and shapes.
To get them thinking about boats, we watched a Brain Pop video about the Titanic and discussed caused the Titanic to sink. This led to great discussion about the design of their boats as well as how it needed to be sturdy at the bottom as to not allow any water to enter the interior of the boat.
Students ended with reflecting about the process as well as what they would do differently if they were to build another boat.
On Wednesday, we explored Slime...or Oobleck. The kids loved this activity. I started out by showing them a cup of slime that I had made and had them discuss if they thought it was a solid or a liquid. I showed them how it appeared to pour out of the cup but then allowed them to feel it to see that it felt solid.
Students then worked with a partner and created their own slime from corn starch and water. They then used their senses to explore it and discussed whether the slime was a solid or a liquid.
On Thursday, we had the opportunity to be architects. I found this great blog with a marshmallow and toothpick challenge for kids - Learn with Play at Home
Her idea for getting the kids talking about architecture was great. We looked at pictures of different buildings in Dubai and talked about similarities, differences and what made the buildings strong. There were tons of oohs and aahs as we looked at all of the pictures. I then challenged the students to create a building of their own with marshmallows and toothpicks.
Here are some of their creations:
On Friday, we ended the week with a volcanic blast in the library. We discussed volcanoes, parts of the volcano and what causes a volcano to erupt. The students then build their own volcano from play-doh and created an eruption with baking soda, glitter and vinegar.
Here are a few of our volcanoes in action.
I am looking forward to lots of awesome maker space activities in the library next year!
