Mechanical Engineering:
Float-A-Boat
Materials:
 1 square of aluminum foil
 1 square of wax paper
 1 square of newspaper
 1 strip of tape 3 in. long
 As many pennies as you need
Activity:
Your goal is to design and construct a
floating device out of the given
materials and see how much weight
can be supported before the “boat”
takes on water.
First, you are first given a minute to
brainstorm design ideas.
Then, you are given four minutes to
build a floating device.
When construction is completed, the volunteer will load coins into the boat
until it takes on water. The teams that built the boat that held the most
pennies will be put on the leaderboard!
Rules: Only provided materials may be used, and you must work in a group!
Societal Impact/Real World Examples:
This activity shows the importance of the engineering design process, as well
as the concept of buoyancy and how a boat stays afloat! Engineers will
brainstorm different methods of construction, including size, shape, and
material selection, to best fit a boat’s application. These design
considerations will greatly impact how much weight a boat can hold before
it sinks! For example, a cargo ship looks very different from a sail boat. Why
do you think that is?
Mechanical Engineering:
Heat Transfer
Activity and Procedure:
Each group of students will be given 1-2
minutes at each of three stations. At each
station there will be four pieces of metal
(copper, aluminum, stainless steel, and
brass) that are the same shape and size.
At the first station, a solid rod of each metal
will be placed in the same shallow cold
water bath and the students will be asked
to investigate which appears to be the
coldest and to figure out why--even though
each is known to be at the same
temperature.
At the second station a long plate of each metal with a piece of temperature sensitive
film on it will be standing up with one end placed in a warm water bath (see photo). The
students will be asked to observe and figure out the significance of the color and location
of the color change in the film on the plate and what it means about the metal
properties.
At the third learning station the students will be given a small magnet to rub across the
surface of a thick plate of each metal and asked what effects, if any, they felt.
Upon completing these stations the students will move on to a fourth challenge and
application station where they will be asked to predict the behavior of a magnet being
dropped down a hollow tube of the metals and then be able to experiment for
themselves to see if their engineering hypothesis was accurate.
Societal Impact and Real World Examples:
The students will learn how engineers are able to identify material properties of various
materials. They will also have the opportunity to experience a typical engineering
research environment and be encouraged to employ their curiosity to gather information!
Here are some other topics that you can check out at home that build on the principles
you’ve learned about today:
• Design and functionality of heat exchangers
• Electric generators
• Magnetic levitation (trains)
Mechanical Engineering:
Tricky Towers
Materials:
 10 strands of spaghetti
 5 mini marshmallows
 5 normal marshmallows
 2 paperclips
 1 strip of tape (6 in.)
Activity:
Break into at least two groups and use
the given materials to construct the
tallest tower within the allotted amount
of time.
First, brainstorm your design for about
one minute.
Then, build your tower! You have four
minutes to construct your design.
After the construction time, the tower must be freestanding to be judged.
Tallest tower creators get their name written down on the leaderboard with
the height of the tower.
Rules: Only provided materials may be used, and you must work in a group!
Societal Impact and Real World Examples:
This activity fosters the engineering design process through team building
exercises. It demonstrates the importance of material selection and structural
integrity in building design.
Questions:
An fundamental part of engineering is teamwork! How did working in a team
help you build your tower?
Mechanical Engineering:
Communication
Challenge
Materials:

5 dominos

5 marbles

Target

2 cereal boxes

Tennis Ball

Large tri-fold posters

3 Binders

5 Binder Clips
(for dividers)

Plastic bowl

6 pencils
Activity:
Team A will be given one minute to analyze Rube Goldberg Machine 1, while Team B is
given a minute to analyze Rube Goldberg Machine 2. Team A and Team B are each given
a minute to analyze their respective Rube Goldberg machine. Team A then has to relay
what their machine looks like to Team B, while Team B tells Team A what their machine
looks like. Now, Team A and Team B have to reconstruct the Rube Goldberg machine with
the given materials, as it was explained to them by the opposite team. Once both
machines are completed, each team can start their Rube Goldberg machine and see if it
can run successfully.
Applications to Engineering:




Communication – being able to effectively express what you are working on to other
people will make you more successful in any industry.
Creativity – even though the team is telling you what the design looks like, you still have
the freedom to interpret that however you want – this can lead to some cool new
designs!
Teamwork - this skill is something that can constantly be improved on, and is used in all
industries, especially engineering.
Logical thinking – team members will have to interpret what is being described to them,
and effectively follow those instructions to recreate the design, without ever actually
looking at it themselves.
Rube Goldberg Machine 1: Analyzed by Team A
1) Construct a ramp, so that a ball can be released from the top.
Constraint: Team A cannot say how to make the ramp .
2) Set up 5 dominos, with the last one at the edge of the table
Constraint: Place a target on the floor where they think the last domino will land .
Overview: The ball should be released from the ramp, hit the first domino, the dominos fall until the
last one falls off the table, hitting the target on top of the cushion
Rube Goldberg Machine 1: Analyzed by Team B
1) Place cereal boxes and/or binders upright, like dominos. Place 5 marbles in the last cereal box
Constraint: Team B can only use one hand each to set up dominos.
2) Use pencils to create a directed path for the marbles, leading to the end of the table
Constraint: place a bowl on the floor where Team B thinks the marbles will land.
Overview: They will start by knocking down the first cereal box/binder, causing them all fall, with the
last one releasing the marbles, which roll down the path set by the pencils, and roll into the bowl on
the floor.
Mechanical Engineering:
Dueling with Hydraulics:
Judo Bots
Materials:

Craft Sticks

Vinyl Tubing

Craft Cubes

4” Cable Ties

Craft Cubes with

Hot Glue Gun
5/32” holes

Utility Cutter

Paper Towels

Skewers

6 Plastic Syringes
Activity:
Four pre-built hydraulic bots each have a semi-stable
base and one lever arm which is activated by different syringes. A team of students will strategically
choose one bot that they believe will lead them to victory as they duel another team’s bot. The
decision of who chooses first will be resolved by best-of-three rock-paper-scissors. The decision
making process will be facilitated by challenging each team to analyze characteristics of the bot
structure, such as center of gravity or length of lever arm. Each team will have a few minutes to
develop an understanding of how the bot works and practice communicating and teamwork with
operating the bot. Only two bots (two teams) will ever duel at one time. They can then duel and
attempt to destabilize and knock over the opposing team’s bot, under a 3 minute maximum time
constraint. Following the duel, participants are asked to brainstorm how the considerations they
took into account on making their decision proved helpful or not, if their bot behaved as they
expected, as well as any potential design changes they might suggest or consider.
Applications to Engineering:

Hydraulics - Demonstrates how hydraulics are used to facilitate motion.

Testing a hypothesis - We challenge participants to analyze the structure by characteristics that
engineers would consider, and then test out their ideas or hypotheses in a fun and competitive
environment.

Engineering Design Process - We challenge participants to analyze the structure by
characteristics that engineers would consider, and then test out their ideas or hypotheses in a
fun and competitive environment.
Real World Uses of Hydraulics:
• Brakes - Pressure applied at the pedal transfers to
the calipers in the car, which pinches the rotor and
stops the car from moving. The amount of pressure
applied dictates how quickly the car decelerates.
• Dump trucks - One or more hydraulic pistons
are used to lift the end of the dump box that is
nearest to the cab. This causes the entire dump
box to tilt, dumping whatever is contained
within it.
• Soap Dispenser - When the consumer presses
down on the nozzle, a spring is compressed. The
upward air pressure draws a small ball in the tube
up, along with the soap (a viscous fluid), through
the tube and into the consumer’s hand. As the
user releases the nozzle, the spring returns to its
original position and the ball is returned to its
resting position. This seals the chamber and
prevents the product from flowing back down
into the bottle, due to the higher pressure.
Additional Information on Project:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Hydraulic-JudoBots/?ALLSTEPS
Mechanical Engineering:
Mechanical
Advantage
Materials:

6 pulleys with hooks

Vinyl Tubing

1 long rope/cable

Handle

1 large frame (i.e. swing set)

Tub of water

Cable clamps

Doorway

Turntable/office chair

Ruler

Bike tire

Binder Clips

PVC Pipe

Common objects of various weights
Activities:
1. Pulleys: Create a pulley system similar to the one shown below. The force necessary to
lift a mass on the other end should be approximately 1/6 the amount of weight.
2. Levers: Create levers and experiment with the position of the fulcrum to discover its ideal
location. The closer the fulcrum is to the load, the higher the torque is.
The application of levers can also be seen through the use of a door. Have someone or
something push on one side of a door, pushing at different locations closer and further
away from the hinge. It will be seen that the closer you get to the hinge, the more force
you have to apply to the door to open it!
3. Archimedes’ Screw:
A. Wind thin tubing in a spiral from the bottom to the top of a pvc pipe. Hot glue this
tubing to the cylinder.
B. Attach a handle to the top of the cylinder.
C. Fill a clear tub/bowl full of water. Place the screw in the water and rotate. The
water should begin to climb through the tube and come out of the top of the screw.
4. Moment of Inertia:
A. Hold a bike tire and sit down on an office chair.
B. Spin the bike tire (holding onto the rod or other item that allows the tire to rotate
freely).
C. Experiment with the position of the bike tire and the chair will rotate!
Applications to Engineering, Societal Impact, and Real World Uses:
Pulley systems help to redirect weight and to redirect forces. They
are used within daily life. Elevators, window blinds, flag poles, and
engines all use pulleys. Pulleys help to make systems easier, safer,
and more efficient.
Examples of pulleys: Elevators, window blinds, flagpoles, cranes,
window washers on skyscrapers, rock climbing, fishing rods.
Levers help us every day, providing assistance in picking up and
moving heavy items. Without levers, daily tasks, such as gardening,
or jobs, such as construction, would be made much harder and
would take much longer to complete. Levers help to provide safer
ways to move objects, by allowing us to not have to lift so much
weight.
Examples of levers: teeter-totter, doors, wheelbarrow, BBQ tongs,
scissors, hammer, nail clippers, piano keys.
Moment of inertia is something we interact with each day, but don’t
typically think about. In sports applications specifically, anytime an
athlete swings a bat, racket, or club, they interact personally with
that equipment’s moment of inertia, with the distribution of mass
enabling them to put more force and impact into their swing. By
understanding moment of inertia, engineers can design to use the
least input moment to yield the greatest output.
Any mechanism that uses a gyroscope utilizes the moment of
inertia. A gyroscope has interconnected rotating components that
it uses to self-balance or self-orient. Examples of use of this in real life
include segways, VR headsets, artificial horizon displays in airplanes,
even the auto-rotate on your smartphone or tablet device.
When building ships, it is critical to design so that the ship doesn’t flip
or topple over. Engineers use the moment of inertia to help ensure
this by designing ships that are long from tip to tail so the ship will
never pitch head over heels into the water. In applications such as
aircraft carriers, these ships are also very wide and flat to reduce
the risk of roll.
Other examples of applications of moment of inertia: gyroscopes,
shipbuilding, Olympic divers, baseball bat design.
Check out these links for more information on Simple Machines!
Simple Machines: http://easyscienceforkids.com/all-about-simple-machines/
Pulleys: https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/cub_simple_lesson05
Pulley Activities: http://tryengineering.org/lessons/pulleysandforce.pdf
Making Levers: http://www.hometrainingtools.com/a/simple-machines-make-a-lever
Levers: https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/cub_simp_machines_lesson03
Archimedes’ Screw: http://kartwheels.org/2015/04/28/archimedes-screw-science-project/
Archimedes’ Screw: https://explorable.com/archimedes-screw
Moment of Inertia: http://www.acs.psu.edu/drussell/bats/bat-moi-details.html
Moment of Inertia: http://vlab.amrita.edu/?sub=1&brch=74&sim=571&cnt=1
Moment of Inertia: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/mi.html
Moment of Inertia: http://www.scienceclarified.com/everyday/Real-Life-Physics-Vol-2/
Mechanical-Advantage-and-Simple-Machines-Real-life-applications.html