Design Projects
The design projects were intended to teach skills involved in product planning and production. The 20-rectangles project was simply an exercise in design. The envelope holder and tape dispenser projects were a mixture of form and function, form to appeal to the human aesthetic and function in order to fulfill a purpose. The lessons learned were about planning and the idea of form and function.
Structural Projects
The purpose of the structural projects was to give experience in planning an object that would not change when placed under outside forces. The golf ball and brick tower projects were experiments with how to make a structure taller without it falling over. The bridge design and bowling ball tower projects were used to give experience when constructing a structure that had to meet a specific set of requirements. The most important lessons learned were about planning and construction techniques.
Cardboard Chair Project
The Cardboard Chair project combined all of the principles used in the design and structural projects. The chair had to make the most out of a relatively weak material to support the weight of an adult, while being comfortable and appealing to the eye. The biggest lessons learned were on teamwork (this was the first project that we worked on in pairs) and extensive design for structural strength as well as aesthetics and ergonomics.
Electronics Projects
The Electronics projects used a bread board and simple electrical devices to teach students about how electricity is used in our daily lives. Important experiences were gained in trouble-shooting, reading schematics, and understanding the process the components and how they affect electricity.
Mechanical Projects
The Mechanical projects were used to demonstrate the purpose and uses of different kinds of gears and pulleys found in a mechanical system. The fist project was simply using all of the devices, in order to learn their functions and purposes. The slow-car and Hill-climb projects were used to show how vehicles used the concepts in mechanical engineering to suit their purpose. The lessons learned were about improvisation, intentionality and gear-ratios.