ENGINEERING DAY 1 SEPTEMBER 17, 2014
LAST YEAR WE LEARNED…. Engineers Plan, design, and build structures Improve designs of transportation to meet certain standards Maintain safety while improving performance Find ways to make things better Solve real-world problems on a budget and with limited materials
THIS YEAR OUR ENGINEERING THEME IS… “Rescue Me!”
WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT? Technical rescue operations are used by professionals in extreme emergency situations. Natural disasters, structural collapses or serious accidents sometimes cause victims to become trapped in confined or complex spaces. These types of emergencies require rescue professionals to go above and beyond normal means to reach and attend to victims. In these instances, specialized tools and skills are needed to save lives. Engineers must design rescue equipment to meet the demands of these very difficult rescue operations.
These type of rescue operations usually involve rescuing a person or animal from a cave, mine, or rooftop. During Hurricane Katrina many people had to rescued from their rooftops via helicopter. RESCUE FROM ABOVE
When a building or mine collapses, victims may be trapped beneath mountains of debris. In these scenarios, engineers develop ways to stabilize the debris so as to not further injure any victims. RESCUE FROM A COLLAPSED STRUCTURE
Sometimes a person or animal must be rescued from a confined space such as a sewer, silo or underground vault. Devices and tools designed for these type of rescue operations must be tough enough to pull the person or animal out yet gentle enough to not hurt them even more. RESCUE FROM CONFINED SPACES
YOUR CHALLENGE Using the only the materials given to your group you must plan and design a rescue tool that will pull your pet out of a drain pipe. Your group will follow the engineering design process for this challenge: Plan, design, test, revise, retest You will only get more tape after you have tested your first design and need to revise it. Good luck!
K-1 DISCUSSION Was your device successful in rescuing your pet? Do you think this activity would have been easier if you worked alone? Why or why not? If you were to do this again, what would you change?
2-3 WRITING Describe your team’s successes with this activity. Explain how you worked as a team. If you could have access to different materials, what would your team have requested? Why? How would you use it?
4-5 WRITING Explain how your team’s communication affected your success. What did you learn about collaboration? How is this activity like real-world engineering scenarios? How would this activity have been different if you were being timed?