Ever since I flipped my physics and Scientific Research and
Design (SRD) class it has become increasingly difficult to find a day where the
lessons are “normal”. Over the years, my SRD students have launched
marshmallows to study projectiles, build a Rube Goldberg Machine and build
roller coasters to examine energy transforms, dissolved M&M’s to learn how
to observe scientifically, design and perform a lab at Six Flags with a movie
trailer report, build a mobile to study torque and every Friday they get class
time to learn something new to them in their 20% project. Not necessarily your
usual science class, but it works for my high school seniors.
I am quite partial to all of them including our current
journey is to build quad copters and obstacle courses to fly through, my
favorite is the first activity every year, the big bubble build. In a
professional development we were shown a bubble to use a classroom activity, a
cell, a planetarium, etc. I decided to let my senior high students to design
and build one for elementary classes. They are told to build an inflatable bubble
that will fit 20 5th graders from 500 sq ft of plastic, zipper, duct
tape and a standard box fan. Create a design and a model, prove that it meets
the requirements and redesign if needed. The class chooses the winning design.
Winners become the project lead and must make everything and everyone work to
create the bubble. 
They don’t believe it will work and are always amazed when
it goes up! They learn to work together, plan, trouble shoot, communicate, fail
and succeed together. They also experience the engineering process from
beginning to end. This year they will deliver our bubbles to an elementary and
explain the process to the students who will get the gift. They ask to blow up
the bubble and work inside it and are proud of their work. Who would have
imagined so much learning with students building big bubble from plastic.
Who would have imagined so much learning with students building
big bubble from plastic. We talk air pressure, geometry, structure as well as
proposals, models and specifications. My students declare themselves “The real
Breakfast Club” after working together. After this project they are ready to
work with any of the students in the class. Considering some of them have never
met, not unusual in a high school with 6000 students, this is a huge
achievement.
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