1. Christine Bonin boninchris213@yahoo.com
Basic of Balsa
Christine Bonin

2. Balsa Not BASS Properties of Balsa OM Requirements Porous, Bendy
Grades pre-crushing
OM Requirements
1/8 inch by 1/8 inch 36” sticks – RECEIPT
Stray marks
Strengthening
Where to buy?
Packs: Kids pick out individual sticks
Pull out bass and balsa sticks (write bass all over the bass stick)

3. Glue Should say “glue” “adhesive” on label
Strengthening – can not be painted on!
Safety!
Epoxy fumes
Mortician super glue story
Be careful of outside assistance, though always safety first

4. OM Requirements OM Requirements 8” or taller 15 grams or less 2” hole
10” wide or less
Pull out crusher
Pull out tinker toys
Pull out straw tower
Pull out

5. Designing – the Hard Part!
Difficult for kids to go from 2-d design to 3-d
Cad-cams on line
Design Aids
Tinker Toys, Popsicle sticks and hot glue
Kinex, Toothpicks and gum drops, straws
Pull out crusher
Pull out tinker toys
Pull out straw tower
Pull out

6. Designing – the Hard Part!
Discuss cell towers, towers, skyscrapers, airplane wings
Pull out crusher
Pull out tinker toys
Pull out straw tower
Pull out

7. Building Several day affair Measuring Cutting All about the joint!
The less space the better!
Right angle vs. diagonal
Sanding
No glue strands
Pull out kit

8. Building
Level
Jig
Pins, Legos, Magnets, Wood KIDS HAVE TO BUILD THE JIG
Pull out kit

9. Building
Good teams build at least a structure a week – share the wealth!
Pull out kit

10. Science Olympiad Examples

11. The Crusher! OM Requirements Putting on weights
Have a structure to crush
OM Requirements
Putting on weights

12. TESTING Don’t want to build a crusher? Textbooks Anything heavy!
Try to use the same thing (that’s why classroom textbooks are great!) and just weigh one, then multiply by how many it took to crush the structure
Have a structure to crush

13. TESTING Weighing your structure Take Pictures before you crush!
conversion from ounces to grams: 1 ounce = grams
Take Pictures before you crush!
Have the future engineers evaluate the weak spots!
Have a structure to crush

14. Slideshow – First, create a Jig

15. Another jig

16. Measure the peices

17. Cut the pieces

18. Sand to get the perfect fit

19. Fit all the pieces into the jig

20. Glue them

21. When dry, pop them out of the jig

22. You have one side

23. Make all the sides you want

24. Connect the sides together

25. Glue them together

26. Add stuff – be creative!

27. Questions for you to consider…
NO!
Do structures have to have four sides?
Do structures have to be perfectly rectangular?
Do structures have to be built by the sides first?
NO!
NO!

28. Coach’s Tool kit
Rulers, pens, cutting tools, adhesives, items to create jigs:
Balsa sticks for the kids to select from:
Coach’s tool kit:

29. Getting the structure to competition:
Be careful!! It will break if crushed from the sides!

30. At Competition, weigh-in checks:
Thickness of sticks:

31. At Competition, weigh-in checks:
Weight:

32. At Competition, weigh-in checks:
Will it fit on the crusher?

33. Odyssey of the Mind Crusher

34. Odyssey of the Mind Crusher