March - Vol 70, No 6 - International Technology and Engineering ...

Brainstorm and Design
Show kids the materials they have to work with (brass
fasteners, rubber bands, cardboard, sandpaper, string,
toothpicks, wooden skewers, and a yardstick or paint
stirrers) and tell them to think about how they’ll use these
materials to make a Helping Hand grabber. Ask, How will
your device open and close? How will you make your device
long enough to reach two feet? How will you control your
grabber when the device is fully extended? Have kids sketch
their designs on paper.
Build and Test
Your students should choose their best design and build it.
When they’re ready to test, provide different types of objects
for them to grab (like tennis balls, cotton balls, plastic
bottles, paper cups, etc.). Let kids know their grabbers
may not work as planned and that when engineers solve a
problem, their first solution is rarely their best.
Evaluate and Redesign
Does the grabber have a weak grip? Students can make the
grabber’s jaws stronger by adjusting the length of the arms
and the position of the fulcrum. Do objects fall out? Tell kids
to make sure the jaws close tightly enough, are wide enough,
and have enough friction to hold on to the objects. Do the
jaws bend or twist? They can be reinforced with something
stiff. Students should continue to make adjustments until
their grabbers are working as intended.
Share
Have your students present their Helping Hand grabbers to
each other. Ask, What are some situations where having a
longer reach would be handy? What are some examples of
things engineers make that improve people’s lives? Show the
Water Dancing episode. Ask kids, What ideas do you have
for new inventions that would improve people’s lives? Have
kids share their ideas in the Projects section of the Design
Squad Nation website.
In Water Dancing, teams compete to build swim fin prosthetics for a doubleamputee
dancer who performs underwater.
Engineering Health:
A Real-World Connection
Engineers help people live healthier lives. They make brain
surgery tools, develop cancer treatments, design prosthetic
limbs, and even create robots that rescue people from
dangerous situations. Naphysah Duncan, a biomedical
engineer and former rhythmic gymnast, designs parts for
spinal implants that enable people with injured or deformed
spines to move more freely and naturally. Share her video
profile, Spinal Implants, with your students.
Download or stream two-minute video profiles in which kids see real engineers
in diverse, creative careers.
Photo: Helen Tsai
22 • Technology and Engineering Teacher • March 2011