Our Sixth Grade and Kindergarten joined together to build a marble run. This engineering project was a fun way to understand the engineering process. Slopes, bends, twists, turns, gravity, heights, etc. make building a marble run challenging, but fun.
1.Problem solving and trial and error- (Will it work if I ….?)
2.Following directions (from the box and the other people building the marble run)
3.Math-. How many pieces are needed to make this tower taller than that one? How fast does the marble go down the marble run (count or use a stopwatch)? Predicting which run/tower will be fastest or estimating how long it will take to complete the marble run are other math concepts that can be incorporated.
4.Spatial thinking- in order to build something, we need to think about what it will look like when it’s done. We also need to adapt and change our plans as needed while we build. When building a marble run, we need to consider the space we have available, the amount or type of pieces we have, and what our goals or next steps are. These are all spatial skills that will help children when they’re older, especially with math and science.
1.Problem solving and trial and error- (Will it work if I ….?)
2.Following directions (from the box and the other people building the marble run)
3.Math-. How many pieces are needed to make this tower taller than that one? How fast does the marble go down the marble run (count or use a stopwatch)? Predicting which run/tower will be fastest or estimating how long it will take to complete the marble run are other math concepts that can be incorporated.
4.Spatial thinking- in order to build something, we need to think about what it will look like when it’s done. We also need to adapt and change our plans as needed while we build. When building a marble run, we need to consider the space we have available, the amount or type of pieces we have, and what our goals or next steps are. These are all spatial skills that will help children when they’re older, especially with math and science.