especially one whose name is unknown or unspecified.
Task:
Make as many widgets as possible in the time allotted.
Use only the supplies given (packing peanuts and toothpicks)
Follow the blueprint. Each widget must be uniform. No defects.
Toothpicks cannot protrude out of peanuts
So we chose our groups, decided who was going to do what task, set up our work areas and began!
Some chose to work alone.
Although he made his widgets correctly, he only made a few widgets.
This group had one person do quality control. Their product turned out correctly but with one less person, they didn't get very many widgets made.
This group chose to work individually but fast. They were able to get a lot done and most of their inventory was uniformly made. Quality control happened as they worked.
This group worked individually and got a lot of product but many of them were not made correctly.
This group divided out the jobs and had an true assembly line working. They ended up with lots of usable widgets.
We then gathered around and discussed what worked best and what didn't work.
It was amazing how the students bought into the idea of making widgets, even though they had no real purpose. We talked about potential uses of these widgets: What if they were part of an airplane wing and were designed to attach the wing to the fuselage. Would you want it to be correctly made?
We also talked about the research done by the students on inventions and advancements made during the Industrial Revolution, including Eli Whitney's interchangeable parts and Henry Ford's Model T assembly line.
Up close and personal experiences are one of the things we emphasize in our studies of ecosystems and environmentalism. And with that in mind, we visited our local zoos: Northwest Trek and the Point Defiance Zoo. Notice how we are ready to take notes with our clip boards.
Northwest Trek:
We are in the cage--the animals are free!
Close encounter with a very tiny bat
Spreading wings like a bat
Animal scat
Point Defiance Zoo:
Egg yolk jelly fish
An artist/scientist in action--drawing shapes for later drawings
Tropical fish have lots of designs to add to her collection
Study of the endangered red wolves
Comparing gray wolves, red wolves, foxes and coyotes
And then our guest speaker, Mr. Towne, came to show us his childhood toy and attached belts (rubber bands), put water in the boiler, lit the fuel, put the lit fuel in the fire box, waited for the pressure to build and voila, the piston began to go up and down, the wheel began to spin and we discovered how a steam engine works!
We then looked at a variety of steam engines including this textile mill.
And we visited the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie, Washington.
We are learning that during the Industrial Revolution:
there were many factories
machines replaced people
people moved to cities
people could have more "things"
children worked in factories, too
and steam engine driven trains could move lots of people, cattle, cargo and big, big trees!
We dressed for the occasion, 1890's style.
We learned that railroad safety is important even today.
We made bandanas to keep our lungs safe from dust and soot.
And we road the train! All aboard!
The Snoqualmie Falls and river were beautiful, especially from this vantage point.
