Students will investigate the properties of sturdy structures by constructing a LEGO wall. The wall must be about 6 bricks high and withstand the “Flick Test”. The Flick Test involves flicking the top of the wall to see if it fails or tips over.
Lesson features:
- Predicting structurally sound building practices.
- Class discussion of different building methods.
- Building and testing a sturdy wall.
- Recording design and test results in Engineering Journal.
By the end of this lesson, students will be able to:
- Determine the best design for a sturdy structure
Resources
The lesson plan attached to this post was designed as part of a series of introductory WeDo lessons but is relevant to all building systems (i.e. RCX, NXT, EV3, …).
- Sturdy Wall lesson plan – WeDo (PDF)
- Sturdy Wall lesson plan – alternate version (PDF)
- Sturdy Wall Journal (PDF)
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CEEO
The Tufts Center for Engineering Education and Outreach (CEEO) in Boston, Massachusetts, is dedicated to improving engineering education in the classroom, from Kindergarten to college. The Center houses faculty, staff, and graduate students from engineering disciplines and the education department.
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