We started by doing a Mexican wave to see how long the signal took to get from start to finish .
Rueben signalled when the message got to him - 10 seconds later.
Different types of waves were discussed.We came up with:what a wave is, named different types of waves:heat waves, radio waves, microwaves electrical waves.
We learned about the radio spectrum and demonstrated how different sounds made different sound waves.
We learned about radar and satellites and had a go using some of the special equipment Dr.Middleditch brought in to demonstrate communication systems and waves.
We also completed a challenge set by one of James Dyson's engineers looking at bridge structures.
First we had time to research different types of bridges and look closely at their structures.We then split into groups and had to design and make a bridge using spaghetti that would support 240g .
We experimented using different ways to make the bridge...
discussing our ideas
making suggestions
trial and error
starting to construct
helping each other
how to fasten?
all good so far....
At the end of Wednesday we realised these things take time so continued Friday morning.
Now for the testing- will bridges stand and support 240 g?
The creative design was voted 2nd place
Isabelle's group were pleased with their design and were voted 2nd place jointly.
This design held over the 240g.
4 groups out of 5 completed the task successfully. 2 bridges supported double the weight.We voted for the best design and it went to the above bridge with 10 votes. You may be wondering why this is different to the rest? The 4 children( our Bronze Ambassadors) spent the previous session recording the mile challenge( see PE Blog) and so missed the lesson and unfortunately all the spaghetti so they used paper straws instead.
Lily's idea for the bridge was the most innovative in design as well as fitting the brief.
Have we some potential design engineers in the future? Time will tell.
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