Junk Drawer Engineering: 25 Construction Challenges That Don't Cost A Thing
Introduction What Is Engineering Engineering is using science to develop a solution to a problem Junk Drawer Engineering will stimulate brains to think devise and build creative solu tions Most of the projects will be challenges that have multiple correct solu tions The key to engineering is trial and error and learning from the errors Good engineering is as much art as it is science Engineering is seeing a problem and creating a means to fix it The art of seeing a new way to do something is a skill that gets better with practice The projects in this book will present you with engineering tasks that let your brain go to work Each project will have a suggested material list of low or no-cost sup plies The material list will be varied and not all items may be needed At its core engineering is trying different things so feel free to modify the material list based on your creativity and what you have available Learning to use what you have is the key to Junk Drawer Engineering Complete science kits are fun to do but creating your own fun from free stuff is even better It is also good for the environment because you will be able to repurpose stuff you already have Giving a new life to a broken toy or computer part just makes you feel good The instructions may suggest several possible solutions A basic approach will be shown to give you the ability to do each project but engineering is about thinking outside the box and devising new ways to do things You are encouraged to try new methods you never know what new and creative ways you will think of Try new approaches and see what works Not all approaches will work but that is OK Thomas Edison’s engineers tried over 2,000 combinations of materials before he found a combination that worked well enough to create the electric light By the way Edison did not invent the lightbulb he just made ix
x Introduction it better His greatest contribution to the lightbulb was the screw style socket that is at the bottom of most lightbulbs now His genius was trying new ideas and never giving up He knew you can learn a lot from mistakes Remember you will learn for your entire life and along the way you will make some boo-boos Boo-boos are an opportunity to learn Any engi neering project is only a failure if you don’t learn from it A project is not a failure because it doesn’t work right It is a learning lesson in what needs to be changed Take a close look at any project and try to figure out what went wrong Modify the design and try again At the end of several of the projects will be photos to show how other people have done these projects These pictures may be great starting points to modify the project based on an idea you have Adding your own flair is part of the fun To me it has always been most of the fun These projects would be perfect for classroom and science camp competi tions Each project will also have a teacher homeschool parent section on how to adapt the challenges for a variety of levels of intellect and ages Included are a preschool elementary school middle school and high school adaptation for each project Since all children are different it is OK to move up or down the adaptations A few may only fit one category but most will be adaptable to many levels The key thing is to remember we learn best when we enjoy what we are doing Engineering is applying science principles to solve a problem Science should be fun so engineering should be fun Laughter truly is the best medi cine and in my opinion the best way to learn If a project fails laugh about it A truly spectacular fail will make you laugh Push the envelope have fun and try engineering Be careful though you may learn something along the way
1 Energy Energy makes things move It transports light sound and people The defi nition of energy is the ability to do work Engineers deal with how to make energy do what needs to be done Energy is so much a part of our everyday lives that we often take it for granted Energy is the unifying concept in all branches of science and engineering is the use of science to solve problems Zip Line Madness Create a zip line cart a Zipper to send an action figure or golf ball to the other side of the room Engineering Challenge Engineer a device that will slide down a mini zip line at the greatest speed The question you need to answer is how to engineer or repurpose something to work as the wheels that roll down the zip line Zip lines are not just a fun vaca tion treat they are a key to learning about science Speed is the thrill as you zip along The Zipper needs to slide over the zip line at the top without untying the zip line You could additionally require a safety line just as all full-size zip line operations do My contests always included that as a must because stu dents can easily see the purpose of the extra cable Engineering is both about design and safety 1
