Hands on Nature and Walls

On Tuesday we had Hands on Nature.  I'd like to thank my parent volunteers, Lynn, Trish and Roxanne, for coming in and teaching us about bird nests.  We had a puppet show about the different kinds of nests that various birds have.  They were able to look at actual nests and identify the bird that went with each kind of nest.  They also talked about the types of materials that birds use to make their nests.  Then they built there own nests and tested them to make sure that they could hold some eggs (chocolate of course!).  Check out the photos from this experience.

We have now wrapped up our 1st Engineering Unit where we learned what it was like to be a Material Engineer.  This week we planned out and built a wall with our own mortar recipe.  Each group got to create their own mortar and decided what materials to use.  They got to use 3 scoops and could choose between sand, soil and clay.  Most groups used 2 scoops of clay and 1 scoop of soil.  After the wall was built, we let it dry for a few days.  On Friday they got to see how well their wall could withstand a wrecking ball (golf ball on a string).  All of the walls eventually gave in.  Some turned out to be stronger than others.  What we discovered was that most mortars had too much clay in them and they cracked.  This caused the walls to come down quicker.  We also discovered that the rocks should have been staggered instead of being put one on top of the other.  Today, groups met and came up with a plan on how they would improve their walls.  Unfortunately we will not have the opportunity to test out their new improved plans but they at least got to experience all of the steps involved in the Engineering Process.  Our next Unit we will learn about being a Mechanical Engineer.

Have a great evening,
Nancy