Egg Drop Design Challenge

The egg drop design challenge	Year One
Overview
Context: Using the text ‘Humpty Dumpty’ as a lesson starter, students will be introduced to the idea of the challenge to prevent their own ‘Humpty Dumpty’ egg from breaking when dropped. The students will need to design a container to hold and protect their egg when it is dropped from a height. Audience:  Our Year One class will allow the Preps to be an audience to the final ‘Humpty Dumpty Egg Drop Design Challenge’. Investigation: Students will investigate where the drop could take place, from how high, and how they can record and keep the experiment data. Students will generate a material list for the challenge and possible designs. Ideation: Students can draw or model planned designs. Production: Students will make their prototypes and justify choices in design and materials. Evaluation: Students will have a test run before the assessment, to re-evaluate their design and make suitable changes. Ideation: Re-design if necessary and communicate changes to their design in writing, drawing or modelling. Evaluation: Assessment of their final design. Whole class evaluation of successful and unsuccessful designs and materials.
Curriculum alignment:
Digital Technologies Content Descriptions Digital Technologies Knowledge and Understanding Identify, use and explore digital systems (hardware and software components) for a purpose ·         Using different digital systems for transferring and capturing data Digital Technologies Processes and Production Skills Collect, explore and sort data, and use digital systems to present the data creatively ·         Follow, describe and represent a sequence of steps and decisions (algorithms) needed to solve simple problems  Design and Technologies Knowledge and Understanding Explore how technologies use forces to create movement in products ·         selecting materials to demonstrate how material properties are appropriate for particular designed solutions ·         exploring how to manipulate materials using a range of tools, equipment and techniques to create movement Design and Technologies Processes and Production Skills Explore needs or opportunities for designing, and the technologies needed to realise designed solutions ·         identifying, gathering and playing with materials, components, tools and equipment to generate personal design ideas ·         discussing possible designed solutions based on experience and some research, for example asking adults for advice ·         exploring which tools, equipment and techniques to use with selected materials ·         considering the importance of sustainability in designed solutions, for example comparing the durability of materials for a selected solution ·         Sequence steps for making designed solutions and working collaboratively  ·         Use materials, components, tools, equipment and techniques to safely make designed solutions
Context	Personal context, engineering principles and systems, materials
Appropriateness	Aesthetics of the design, how functional it is, and how sustainable it is (will the materials last, hold together and be recycled?)
Management	What resources will we use? Where can we locate our resources? Where can we conduct the challenge? Who needs to help us? What things can’t we do or choose?
Researching a design
·         Research insulating materials found around the house (sponge, packing peanuts, bubblewrap) ·         Think of commonly found items that are easy to bind, glue or tie together. ·         The container could use air resistance (plastic bag) to fly down from a height ·         The container could make use of the insulated properties to absorb the impact (force) of the drop.	Materials list: ·         Toilet paper rolls ·         Newspaper ·         Shoeboxes ·         Paddlepop sticks ·         Tape ·         Rubber bands ·         Plastic bags ·         String ·         Balloons  ·         Packing peanuts ·         Bubble wrap ·         Kitchen sponges
Design specifications:
·         The design must be a container that holds the egg ·         The design must use a minimum of 4 types of materials ·         The egg must not be cracked or broken when dropped ·         The design must be your own; original thinking
Because my students are Year One’s, they need to be guided through with the I do, you do, we do, context with some direct instruction before they begin their own designs. I have to model the context and instructions for them. I would bring a design that I made myself (a parachute and egg held by rubber bands , toilet paper rolls and sponges). I would write my basic instructions up for the class to see using the design cycle process. 1.     Draw, model initial design with labels 2.     Material choices 3.     Show how I built the design 4.     Drop the container in front of the class 5.     Discuss the design success and write sentences about it. 6.     Re-evaluate design and change drawing 7.     Discuss how I would do the experiment again with my new container.
A need’s analysis for the challenge:
What is the motivation/purpose for the design?	To solve a real life technology and design problem within a famous nursery rhyme.
Who will use the product/system being produced? What is their age, characteristics relevant to the design? How will you find out what their needs are?	The system being produced will only be used by this class and the students as a problem solving challenge.
Are there any stakeholders to consider?	No.
What is the need being met through the design?	The Year One students will challenge their design and thinking skills and they will learn the process and practice computational thinking as well as design thinking.
What alternatives are already available? Why is this design better?	Egg cartons are available. The invented designs will be better because they will be built with a drop from a height, in mind.
Are there any constraints to the degree of freedom that you have in creating the design?	Specific materials list, minimum number of inclusions.
What research will be needed to develop an understanding of how the design and manufacturing process will be enabled, what processes developed by others can be used?	·         Research insulating materials ·         Look at the properties of common materials ·         What do humans use to fall safely to the ground? ·         Look at one design that failed
What manufacturing constraints will influence the design – cost, equipment, safety, time?	Only materials indicated by the teacher can be used because cost is a factor. There will be a need to re-use as much materials as possible. No hot glue guns or staplers as a safety precaution. We will only get a lesson to build a design, and another lesson to evaluate and re-design after a test.