Grade 2 Students Become Engineers in ‘Puff Vehicle’ Challenge

St. Margaret’s Grade 2 students spent Monday morning in Sillers Hall engrossed in a fast-pace, fun engineering challenge.

In teams of two, the students were given a bag that had a three straws, a piece of paper, two paper clips and four Life Savers. Their challenge was to make a “puff vehicle” that would roll as far as possible by blowing on it.

Within minutes, the Lower School students were cutting the paper, threading the Life Savers on the straws and taping it all together to be tested.

The challenge was designed to work on problem-solving skills, creativity and testing prototypes. Students had to find their own path to the solution, then make tweaks if it didn’t work as expected the first time around. 

 “They’re learning what it means to test and retest,” said Heather Murray, Lower School assistant principal and STEM fellow who organized the design challenge.

The variety of the designs show just how creative of a project it was. One team tried a three-wheel vehicle, while another had the traditional four wheels but put a sail on top of their vehicle to catch the wind. One of the more successful vehicles was a team that didn’t make much of a vehicle at all—it was just one axle with all four Live Savers on it.

 “Some of the designs they came up with in such a short amount of time is impressive,” Mrs. Murray said.

Lower School students have been taking part in several design challenges throughout the school year. In October, grade 2 students worked on their first iteration of the puff vehicle. Grade 3 students designed the perfect lower school lunch, and grade 4 students participated in design challenges that involved building bridges and towers that could pass a test of sturdiness.