Legs and Locomotion
Engineering Design Challenge - create a segmented centipede that has jointed legs that
can lift its body clear off the ground.
Learning to Notice
Here are some questions you can ask your child to guide observation. You can also serve to draw and
document what your child observes in your journal if your child is not able to.
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What type of creature do you observe?
Where on the body are the legs attached?
How many legs does it have?
What type of tracks does it make? What type of tracks do you make?
How many legs are on the ground at one time?
Do the legs overlap when the creature walks?
What do you notice about the “gait” of the creature? Gait is the pattern of movement of the
limbs of animals. Most animals use different gaits, depending on speed, terrain, the need to
maneuver, and energetic efficiency.
What do you notice about the speed of the creature? Does it change with the surface it is
moving on? How does its speed compare with other creatures you have observed on the walk?
What is its range of speed?
Can this creature jump? Can you jump? How are the jumps different?
How many joints do you see on its legs? How many joints do you have on your leg?
What is the range of movement of your leg joints?
Why do you think it the creature is moving? Is it chasing something or being chased? Is it
looking for food, resting, or playing or finding a friend?
What are some body features that help it to stabilize?
Can it climb vertical surfaces? What helps it to climb?
Learning to Model and Represent Ideas
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Sketch one animal that you saw
Label the different body parts of the animal
Draw the animals’ legs and label its joints.
Draw a design for your centipede (keeping in mind the materials you will use)
Learning to Plan
The challenge is to create a segmented centipede with jointed legs.
Tip 1: The fewer cups you use, the fewer legs you will need to make.
Tip 2: The fewer materials you use, the less weight your model will have and it will be easier to
support with legs. This is true in living creatures as well. Nature is very efficient and does not waste
materials as bigger creatures need more energy and food to survive.
Learning to Build
Parent.. you will be the instructor. You will need to model curiosity and persistence. You should not
be afraid of saying, “I dont know. Let’s ask” or “I don’t know. Let’s find out”.