Engineering the Future: Science: Technology, and the Design Process is the next step for Engineering School students and our first project will be particularly appealing to students who have enjoyed Exchange City!
The Fabulous Re-Designs Company is in need of creative engineers capable of developing a new product line that will breathe life into the company's failing profit figures. Students take on the role of design engineers themselves and like engineers, they are asked to undertake projects to meet certain human needs. The students will work on design teams of 4 students. They will determine their own roles and responsibilities as Project Managers, Accountants, Project Engineers, Marketing Directors, and Manufacturing Engineers. Students are encouraged to be creative individuals and efficient team members while meeting the criteria and constraints of each project. If their design projects do well, company profits increase and students are paid real dividends on stock investments made at the beginning of the 'fiscal year'!
This project-based curriculum developed by the Museum of Science, Boston, exposes students to how engineers work and think. Participants of this program with no prior experience, or who have completed any of the Engineering is Elementary series or the Exchange City program, will develop a practical understanding of how we are influenced by science and technology and how our choices as workers, consumers, and citizens influence future technological development.
Prerequisites: Independent reader and learner. Team player. Be able to tell the difference between Technology and Engineering.
FRC Member Fee: *$35 per class Nonmember Fee: *$70 per class
Registration fee includes 20 hours of instructor-led classroom time, Engineering the Future student textbook, Engineer's Notebook and 5 shares of stock in the fictitious
Fabulous Re-Designs Company students will be employed by during this year-long immersion experience.
*Monthly billing is available - additional $5 per month transaction fees apply.
The Textbook for this course is unusual, in that it is written in the first person by practicing engineers. Men and women from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds describe what it is like to practice their profession, and how they came to do what they do. The "narrators" also explore important concepts pertaining to their work. Each story communicates important concepts in the technology and engineering standards and highlights especially important ideas.
The Engineer's Notebook guides students in their day-to-day activities at home and in the class. It provides detailed instructions and datasheets for design challenges and supporting activities, as well as rubrics so that students will understand how their work will be evaluated. Each booklet is punched so it can be inserted into a 3-hole binder. Click here to review sample pages.
Raymond, NH
Thursdays 12:00pm - 2:30pm, September 10, 2009 - June 3, 2010
9/10, 10/15, 11/12, 12/3, 1/21, 2/18, 3/11, 4/8, 5/6, 6/3
Snow Dates: 1/28, 3/25
February - June: Boat Re-Design
September : Sept - Jan: Game Development, Production & Marketing
Prior to first class:
- Read Chapter 1 of the ETF Student Textbook and answer questions 1-5 on page 10, choose either question 6, 7 or 8 and write out what you think.
- Read Chapter 2 of the ETF Student Textbook and answer questions 1-9 on page 18.
- Complete pages 7 – 11 of Engineer's Notebook.
In Class:
- Students will use what they have learned through previous Engineering Classes to create, manufacture, market and then sell a game. Though the end point, marketing and selling, will be the goal, the stress will be on how a product is brought to market, the mathematics and engineering involved, how technology is used to create the product and what environmental effects there are from the manufacturing, use and disposal of the product. The design of the cell phone holder will be the model upon which the design of the game will be based.
- First the Teams will be created and responsibilities (jobs) will be assigned. Jobs include: Project Manager, Accountant, Project Engineer, Marketing Director, and Manufacturing Engineers. They will also develop ways and manners to communicate amongst their team members during this series of lessons (internet, personal visits, etc.). The Team will begin working through pages 12-18 of the Engineer's Notebook. The book uses the model of a cell phone holder to demonstrate how an engineer would figure out the cost of materials. The team will decide on the basic ideas for their ‘game’. This will include any packaging. Students will be encouraged to use readily available materials to keep costs down. Teams will also keep track of the ‘investment’ each Team Member made to the project.
Homework:
Complete with your group: section 1.3 (p. 19 – 38) of the Engineer's Notebook for the next class.
October
Prior to first class:
- Read Chapter 3 of the ETF Student Textbook and answer questions 1-6 on page 26, choose either question 7 or 8 and write out what you think.
- Read Chapter 4 of the ETF Student Textbook and answer questions 1-8 on page 34.
In Class:
- We will review completed homework drawings. Plans and drawings are an important part of Engineering. Then teams will work through page 39 – 46 of the Engineer's Notebook. Teams will decide on research and mass marketing strategies, design a survey and data gathering techniques, assign jobs (such as who will be building what) and expectations for what is to be done when the group reunites. Again, the model the book uses is a cell phone holder but the Teams will be creating a game (i.e.- a chess game that uses recycled or reused materials as pieces and the board). Basic game design and materials should be chosen by end of this class period so that marketing and manufacturing can begin.
Homework:
Create a research report, collect survey data, begin collecting materials, keep track of costs.
November
Prior to first class:
- Read Chapter 5 of the ETF Student Textbook and answer questions 1-7 on page 40, choose either question 8 or 9 and write out what you think.
- Read Chapter 6 of the ETF Student Textbook and answer questions 1-8 on page 34.
In Class:
- We will discuss Class #2 homework. Teams will work on section 1.6 – 1.8 of the Engineer's Notebook. Students will create a prototype game that matches the agreed upon criteria (from Class #2) and decide how the ‘product’ will be manufactured, tested and evaluated, and the procedure for doing so. If the game is to be sold for the holiday season then basic ideas concerning manufacturing game sets should be considered.
Homework: Test and Evaluate the game. Test marketing.
December
Prior to first class:
- Read Chapter 7 of the ETF Student Textbook and answer questions 1-10 on page 60.
- Read Chapter 8 of the ETF Student Textbook and answer questions 1-5 on page 70, choose either question 6 or 7 and write out what you think.
In Class:
- Teams will review game evaluation and marketing results. Students will develop and carry out a manufacturing and marketing plan. They will decide on cost of product and when, where and how the product is to be marketed. How is the product to be sold and or marketed? Devise a plan for how data concerning the marketing and selling of the product will be collected and by whom?
Homework: Market and sell the product.
January
Prior to first class:
- Read Chapter 9 of the ETF Student Textbook and answer questions 1-7 on page 79, choose either question 8 or 9 and write out what you think.
In Class:
- Teams will assess the outcome of their marketing and selling plan. Students will decide on redesign of product and or how the marketing is to be changed. What is to be done next? Is the game popular enough to continue selling?
February: Feb - Jun: Improve a Patented Boat Design
Prior to first class:
- Read Chapter 3 of the ETF Student Textbook and answer questions 1-6 on page 26, choose either question 7 or 8 and write out what you think.
- Read Chapter 4 of the ETF Student Textbook and answer questions 1-8 on page 34.
- Read pgs. 5 – 10 (Engineering the Future Proj. 3.0 Engineer's Notebook)and have page 10 completed when student comes to the first class.
In Class:
- Students will work their way through a hands-on engineering problem that builds upon the concepts presented in the elementary level Engineering School and takes them into the real world. In this particular program students will study, build and improve an engineering design, apply mathematical principles specific to the engineering problem presented and learn how to problem solve and work with a group to do so.
- Students will be divided into working groups of no more than four members. Students will develop ways and manners to communicate amongst the members during this series of lessons (internet, personal visits, etc.).
- Once the goals of the class are discussed, students will begin working their way through the building of a Boat (PuttPutt Boat). It is possible that the Boat will not be completed by the end of the class period. Student groups should divide up the remaining work amongst the members of the groups so that the Boat will be finished and completed within the first part of the second class period. Page 25-26 will be completed in class. Students will work through task 3.2.
Homework:
Begin the improvement process. What needs to be improved? Research the design and your Team’s ideas for improvement of the design, materials used and or other considerations.
March
Prior to first class:
- Read Chapter 3 of the ETF Student Textbook and answer questions 1-6 on page 26, choose either question 7 or 8 and write out what you think.
- Read Chapter 4 of the ETF Student Textbook and answer questions 1-8 on page 34.
In Class:
- The Boat operates using a Fluid System. There are two main types of fluid systems: hydraulic (water or oil) and pneumatic (air). Students, in their groups, will work their way through tasks 3.3 and 3.4 as a way to understand how both types of fluid systems work.
- Creating a hydraulic/pneumatic lift will be of use to visualize, in a hands-on way, how hydraulic and or pneumatic systems operate.
Homework:
Work through, individually and as a Team, the questions in Tasks 3.3 and 3.4. Discuss what the tasks have done to help your re-design process. Prepare for the next class period (Task 3.5).
April
Prior to first class:
- Read Chapter 3 of the ETF Student Textbook and answer questions 1-6 on page 26, choose either question 7 or 8 and write out what you think.
- Read Chapter 4 of the ETF Student Textbook and answer questions 1-8 on page 34.
In Class:
- Using the completed Boat, student groups will learn how factors that might not be as apparent can have real effects on the Boat. These factors (heat, condensation, temperature) will be studied within the framework of various mathematical principles. Students will work through task 3.5.
Homework:
Complete the work in Task 3.5 both individually and as a Team. How does what you have learned help your re-design process?
May
Prior to first class:
- Read Chapter 3 of the ETF Student Textbook and answer questions 1-6 on page 26, choose either question 7 or 8 and write out what you think.
- Read Chapter 4 of the ETF Student Textbook and answer questions 1-8 on page 34.
In Class:
- Student groups will investigate other aspects of the Boat. Working through tasks 3.6 and 3.7 will, hopefully, lead to design change ideas. The physical design, shape, size and type of materials used might present interesting and possibly previously unknown advantages or lead to completely different avenues of research and experimentation.
- Students will work through tasks 3.6 and 3.7.
Homework:
Complete Tasks 3.6 and 3.7. Teams should have a good idea of how to –redesign the Putt Putt Boat by the end of this class so that the Putt Putt Boat can be built during the last class and show improvement in one or more areas.
June
Prior to first class:
- Read Chapter 3 of the ETF Student Textbook and answer questions 1-6 on page 26, choose either question 7 or 8 and write out what you think.
- Read Chapter 4 of the ETF Student Textbook and answer questions 1-8 on page 34.
In Class:
- The class will end with the group presenting a redesign of the Boat and, possibly, applying for a patent. Students will think of packaging and marketing their ‘new’ design. Possibly students will come up with a marketable product. Students will work through and complete tasks 3.8 and 3.9.
- Team members should, each, have a copy of the boat for their own personal use.
- Teams will report profits and losses on game sales and calculate divindends paid on stocks owned.
