Engineering
Booklet
Family Makers
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Welcome to
Family Makers!
We are so excited to meet you soon!
Family Makers is designed for both children and caregivers to ignite interest and participation in engineering. That is why we ask at least one caregiver (e.g., parent, grandparent, older sibling) to join so you can help your child learn during our program and continue supporting them in their engineering learning at home. Caregivers do not need any prior knowledge in engineering to help their children. We only ask that you try to practice the following guiding principles. Please also know that frustrations may come up because good things do not happen in a minute. Again, welcome to Family Makers!
Family Makers Guiding Principles: CHILD
C
H
I
L
D
Child chooses what to work on.
Help your child by asking, not telling.
Inspire by letting your child lead.
Learn with patience to overcome frustrations.
Discussion over direction.
We encourage you to look for these materials at home. If you cannot find them, that’s okay since we will be providing all the necessary materials you need. However, we know that having more materials will help your child add creative elements and brainstorm solutions. So, if you want, please take some time to treasure hunt for these materials at home.
How can you prepare for Family Makers
/toilet paper rolls
pens
Can you find these materials?
How can we use the engineering design process to build and improve solutions? Let’s act like engineers by constructing a tower using gumdrops and toothpicks!
Session 1
Intro to engineering
Use the measuring tape to measure your tallest tower
Feel free to add anything else you think is cool or important about your towers here!
Use this space to do more sketching and planning, or simply take notes!
Be an engineering detective!
What are examples of engineering you see in your life? Find one object or structure that you think was designed by an engineer. Write or draw what you found and why you think it’s an example of engineering!
Discover Examples of Everyday Engineering
Deepening Activity
Go further!
Interview someone you know in the community (e.g., grandparent, teacher, neighbor) to ask what they think are some examples of problem-solving and engineering they see in their life. Write down below some examples you discovered from the interview!
Who I interviewed:
Examples of problem-solving and engineering:
Meet Engineers
Watch videos of engineers who grew up in rural communities just like you! Look through the list of engineers, and try to find a mechanical engineer.
https://www.youtube.com/@ruralfamilymakers6844 (https://bit.ly/3CccJM5)
Create a pair of sandals for your parent. Remember, your parent will wear the sandals and test if the sandals meet the product requirements written below.
Session 2
Design a sandal
Product Requirements
01
Jump at least 5 times
02
Your adult member should wear the pair of sandals and…
Run for at least 10 seconds
03
The sandals should have at least 1-inch outsole
Use this space to sketch and plan!
Go further!
We challenge you to find different types of shoes in your house and analyze the materials that are used to design the shoes. How do different materials support different function? Add your observations below about what you discovered!
Materials and structures in engineering
Deepening Activity
Materials
Shoe type
My observations
Learn about shoe design!
Shoes come in various types. Engineers working with designers focus on materials, durability, and function, testing stress and strain. They also prioritize people’s health and safety. Do you know any mechanical engineering concepts? They’re applied to analyze shoe structure and ensure comfort and safety. Check out the video to learn more about the shoe-making process!
Meet Engineers
Watch videos of engineers who grew up in rural communities just like you! Look through the list of engineers, and try to find a biomedical engineer.
https://www.youtube.com/@ruralfamilymakers6844 (https://bit.ly/3CccJM5)
Are there things in your house you wish were different? Maybe you want to make something that can help with the housework or design something super fun to turn your house into a dream place. Use circuits to redesign your house!
Session 3
Invent a gadget
Use the questions below to start brainstorming!
Feel free to take notes.
Sketch where each circuit component will go and how they will connect.
What is precision farming and what does it have to do with tech and robotics?
Meet Dr. Magan Lewis (https://bit.ly/4abuVSw) and learn about her work as an agricultural tech.
Deepening Activity
Meet an engineer
Watch videos of engineers who grew up in rural communities just like you! Look through the list of engineers, and try to find a software engineer.
https://www.youtube.com/@ruralfamilymakers6844 (https://bit.ly/3CccJM5)
Create a library that can turn into
a community emergency shelter to withstand two natural disasters
Session 4
Design a special library
Your librarian will choose three natural disasters from this list. You get to choose the final one!
Each of these natural disasters can be tested using simple simulations. Please see the testing methods below:
Dump a basket of toys all at once
Use hair dryer (on strong) to blow air for 30 seconds at close proximity
Shake the surface with strong force for 30 seconds
Use hair dryer (on hot) to blow air for 1 minute
Dump 1 gallon of water
Blizzard, Volcano, Landslide
Sandstorm, Tornado, Hurricane
Earthquake
Heavy rain
You will act like an engineer by testing your model!
Wild Fire
Testing method
Use this space to sketch and plan!
Deepening Activity
Did you know that you need to understand what is going on in your environment in order to come up with solutions for it? Use the Arduino Science Journal App with sensors to measure sound, speed, light, etc. Measure your movement speed while walking, jogging, and sprinting. Test the speed of different rides at a playground!
Know about environmental engineering
Activity #1
Activity #2
We challenge you to use the sound sensors to measure your appliances at home to see which makes the loudest noise and which appliance is the quietest. Write down the list of appliances and their noise levels!
Link to Arduino
Science Journal App
The speed of different rides in my playground....
Meet Engineers
Watch videos of engineers who grew up in rural communities just like you! Look through the list of engineers, and try to find a mechanical engineer.
https://www.youtube.com/@ruralfamilymakers6844 (https://bit.ly/3CccJM5)
01
02
03
Blinky, the robot, found cool marbles that he wants to share with his friends. But, they are too heavy to carry. Can you build
a structure to carry and unload the marbles?
Session 5
Improve a solution
Product Requirements
Carry at least three marbles
Transport the marbles for at least 5 inches
(You may give a little push to the mechanism for it to start moving)
Unload the marbles on its own after transporting them for at least 5 inches (You may give a little push or a slide to unload the marbles, but it should have an unloading mechanism)
Carry and transport marbles for 5 inches
Mind Map #1
Use the mind map to brainstorm different designs that can carry and transport the marbles for 5 inches.
Unload the marbles
Mind Map #2
Use the mind map to brainstorm different designs that can
unload the marbles.
Questions you can ask during planning and creating
Use this space to sketch and plan!
Deepening Activity
Nature can inspire inventions and solutions. Dragonflies have four wings that move independently, giving them incredible agility. Engineers used this inspiration to create new types of small drones. Watch the video by scanning the QR code below to see how researchers are learning from dragonflies. Write out what you discovered!
Discover inspirations of engineering!
Activity
Descriptions of the dragonflies taken from: Ben Hoare, B. (2021). Nature’s Treasures: Tales of More than 100 Extraordinary Objects from Nature. DK Children.
Meet Engineers
Watch videos of engineers who grew up in rural communities just like you! Look through the list of engineers, and try to find an engineer that you think relates most with this session (there is no right or wrong answer).
https://www.youtube.com/@ruralfamilymakers6844 (https://bit.ly/3CccJM5)
Let's look at the different engineering solutions we’ve made during our last sessions, and how we acted as engineers.
Session 6
Celebration
Use this space to sketch and plan!
Veronica is a mechanical engineer and roboticist who studies how to give robots a sense of touch. After breaking her elbow in high school, Veronica was inspired to pursue mechanical engineering to build better devices.
Deepening Activity
Meet Engineers
Watch videos of engineers who grew up in rural communities just like you! https://www.youtube.com/@ruralfamilymakers6844 (https://bit.ly/3CccJM5)
You can also scan the QR codes below to “meet” other engineers
Explore engineering further at home
Meet Dana Bolles who is a spaceflight engineer at NASA.
Meet Dr. Ayanna Howard who programs robots to help teach children about human interactions.
Meet Evelyn Chin, a software engineer who takes us into a virtual world that we can feel with our fingertips.
Deepening Activity
Explore engineering further at home
Deepening Activity
Explore engineering further at home
Expand your engineering learning through bigger challenges
Free space!
Family Makers