"To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk." Thomas Edison Presented at CSTA Conference October 13, 2012 by Laura Rodriguez Hall Memorial School Willington, CT

 Defining and delimiting engineering problems involves stating the problem to be solved as clearly as possible in terms of criteria for success and constraints, or limits.  Designing solutions to engineering problems begins with generating a number of different possible solutions, evaluating potential solutions to see which ones best meet the criteria and constraints of the problem, then testing and revising the best designs.  Optimizing the design solution involves a process of tradeoffs, in which the final design is improved by trading off less important features for those that are more important. This may require a number of iterations before arriving at the best possible design.

 K–2: What are different ways to solve problems and meet challenges?  3–5: How can people work together to create better designs?  6–8: How can different solutions to problems be compared, tested, and refined to arrive at the best design?  9–12: How are quantitative investigations, analyses, and simulations used to define problems, and develop and refine solutions?

 Each episode takes place in a huge, specially constructed junkyard, where two teams of engineers and mechanics get ten hours to build machines scrounged from junk. Later, the teams put their contraptions to the test in a competition  5 Episodes on  Mechanical Monsters - Students drive remote control vehicles up steep ramps covered in different substances such as mud and sandpaper to determine the fastest surface. Then, teams compete to build and race monster trucks and climbing cars  Cool Cars : Teams build drag racers and all-terrain vehicles  Wild Watercraft : Teams build power boats and power rafts  Wind Machines : This episode consists of two competitions. In one, teams build working gliders and in the other, they build sand yachts and sailboats with wheels that are designed to race on land  Air Movers : Teams build hovercraft and street sweepers.

 Junkyard Wars for the Classroom Junkyard Wars for the Classroom  Science Spot Junk Box Wars Science Spot Junk Box Wars  Science Rocks 8 Science Rocks 8  Think about it? – Planning page  Wrapping it Up – Reflection  Rubric

 The Weakest Link- Build the longest chain that will hold the most weight  Bridge Challenge – Build a bridge that will support the most weight  Super Structures – Build a structure that will hold the most pennies

 Zoom Machines – Create a “Zoom machine” that will travel a distance of 4 meters in the shortest amount of time  Battle of the Boats – Create a boat that will travel a specified distance in the shortest amount of time  Magnificent Marble Maze – Create a marble maze that will take the longest time for a marble to complete

 Whirling Wonders – Create a wheel powered by water that will pull the greatest amount of string And buoyancy  Super Subs – Create a submarine that will sink and come to the surface in the shortest amount of time

Day 1 ( 20 MIN): Introduce and Explain Challenge Students Brainstorm ideas Complete “Think It” overnight Day 2 (80 MIN): Students choose design Students build it, test it, modify design Day 3 (40 MIN): Final fixes and competition Students complete “Wrap it Up”

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