What did you do last summer?
This is an activity you can do with the class after explaining the different types of engineers.
1. Ask the students what they did last summer? Prompt for reflection. Did they go to an amusement park? Go to
soccer, basketball, or golf camp? Go to the beach?
2.
Ask the students did they know that engineers make a big contribution to their summer fun? Prompt for many
possible answers e.g. Engineers designed and ensured the safety of amusement rides and they designed the roads
and bridges that took the students and their families on their adventure. If an answer is right, or half right, use it as
a way to elaborate on the point in an informal way that engineers make a difference in nearly everything that
touches their world.
3. Show the students a photo/video of a waterslide Ask the students have they ever ridden a waterslide?
4. Explain to the students that the water slide is like a wet roller coaster with no seat and no safety harness, and it
uses the same principles a roller coaster does to work. Ask they students have they ever wondered why the slide is
so slippery? It’s because of the thin stream of water that flows down the flume.
5.
Discuss the different types of engineers that are involved with making a waterslide. Allow students to discuss the
question in pairs or threes. If students are reluctant to speak in public, ask the pairs to write down an answer and
collect several to read out before commenting on them.
Civil and mechanical engineers design these water park rides, including the layout of the ride and the pumping
systems to release just the right amount of water to get you to the splashdown! Structural Engineers design the
slide to withstand the weight of the people, the water, and even the force of the wind blowing on it.