Many parents want to interest their kids in engineering careers. These professions offer some of the highest salaries among science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. To excel in engineering positions, students must know about mass and weight, mathematics and physics. Taking part in creative activities that spur the imagination may instill a love of engineering in your kids. Here is a challenge to try:
Build a newspaper structure
A big part of engineering includes learning about the properties of different materials. While you likely don't have a lot of construction components lying around at home, you probably have some newspaper! This type of paper is very unique. It can be made much stronger when folded or rolled into 3-D structures. Provide your kids with several issues of a newspaper and ask them to make some buildings. Encourage them to learn how they can make the paper stronger. Here are some options they may attempt:
- Rolling the newspaper into columns.
- Folding the paper into fans.
- Adding layers of glue between sheets of the paper.
- Combining these methods into one structure.
Once the kids have made a few buildings with various folds of newspaper, have them test each one's weight capacity. Use household items like books of several sizes or a couple of apples. To further their scientific learning, ask your children to take notes. They can write about how they created each design and why they chose to do specific things to the paper, like folds or rolls. It's also important to mention how the sheets of paper were attached. Were columns slipped into one another? Did the builders use glue at specific intervals? Each kid should note how much weight their creations held and then come up with ways to improve these numbers. Your kids will be gaining knowledge about engineering while using problem solving and critical thinking skills that are crucial to succeeding on the Common Core State Standards testing.
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