PHOTOS: Grade 4 Tartans Attempt to Build a Miniature ‘Unsinkable’ Ship
The testing was the culmination of an extensive process that included drawing potential hull designs, assembling the ship according to plan, and then testing and re-testing prototypes to find a design that can bear significant weight and keep its center of buoyancy.
St. Margaret’s grade 4 students put their month-long design challenge to the ultimate test this week—with help from a fish tank and a few rolls of pennies.
The design challenge involved building a “mini-Titanic” ship that can float in water and take on weight without sinking. The unit is tied into a study of the infamous 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic, and the engineering problems that doomed that ship.
The students engineered, built and tested a miniature boat as part of the challenge during their science block, taught by Lower School science teacher David Beshk. Students built the hull of their ship with aluminum foil, and had the option to use additional materials like clay and toothpicks to build out the ship. The ship had to meet certain length and width parameters, and was tested by how many pennies it can hold without sinking.
“I wanted to provide the grade 4 students with a hands-on challenge that utilized the Engineering Design Cycle,” Mr. Beshk said. “The Titanic disaster proved to be an engaging case study where students could apply the lessons learned from the tragic sinking to their boats. I was very proud of their ability to design, build, and iterate boats based on careful observations and classroom tests. Throughout the unit, students reflected on their work and modified their boats in an effort to create the most stable, buoyant boat possible. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
With a half-full fish tank and hundreds of pennies available, students put their boats in the water, then loaded pennies one at a time to see how much weight it could handle. Classmates looked on with anticipation as more and more pennies were dropped into the ship.
The testing was the culmination of an extensive process that included drawing potential hull designs, assembling the ship according to plan, and then testing and re-testing prototypes to find a design that can bear significant weight and keep its center of buoyancy.
As part of the unit, Mr. Beshk invited United States Coast Guard veteran Greg Matlin to present to students on ship design and stability last month.
St. Margaret’s Episcopal School
Translation? ¿Traducción? 翻译?: