Summer SAVY, Session 1 Day 5, Intro to Chemical Engineering: Engineering With Play Dough (1st-2nd)
What a wonderful way to wrap up our week together!
Today, students applied all they have learned about the Engineering Design Process, chemical engineering, product testing, and chemical changes in order to improve the play-dough design process.
We started the morning reviewing the properties of the materials in play-dough and how different combinations affect the end results. Students used this information to create an initial process for making play-dough that would then drive their testing.
Students applied the Engineering Design Process three times. After each test, students analyzed and evaluated their results with their partner, brainstormed modifications for improvement, and retested. Through multiple revisions, each batch improved, and by the end, everyone’s play-dough passed the Spaghetti and Meatball Usage Test!
After recording our results and sharing our findings, students created a recipe book to bring home. I hope you all enjoy creating our improved play-dough as a family!
Dinner conversation table topics for this evening include the following:
- How did you change the materials? Did you add more? Did you add less?
- Did you change the order of the steps? Why?
- How can the Engineering Design Process be used to solve other problems and improve existing technologies?
We so enjoyed our time with your amazing learners! Thank you for sharing them with us for the week!
-Ms. Callis and Ms. Delaney