Get Crackin' Egghead Helmet Project

We  had fun learning about material science by designing, building and testing a helmet for our egghead friends!  (Most named Shell-don, Shelly or Egg-bert.)  The students had fun drawing on a face before their egg  was dropped through the test chamber in the drop zone we made from an old packing box.  

I am adamant that the kids must be immersed in essential learning outcomes from the program of studies while doing project work.   Without an emphasis on content through the project, I fear the students will be engaged and have fun, but with a shallow understanding of science.  The students used their word wall words in planning and explaining their design.  They used the key terms and the accompanying concepts as parameters for their helmet (i.e. they had to describe how they made it aesthetically pleasing, how it was environmentally friendly and they had to work within a budget of $50.00 "Bill Bucks" in honour of our favorite scientist, Bill Nye.  They loved to come to the materials store and purchase supplies with their Bill Bucks! Students had to pay an environmental levy if they wanted to use materials that the class deemed to be bad for the environment.  They used terms like composite, layered, aesthetics, durability, and function in their write ups.  They are getting better at explaining their thinking with correct science vocabulary.  I refer often to the anchor chart we co-constructed on how to communicate like a scientist.   Students incorporated their numeracy skills by compiling data, calculating averages of success of different material types and drawing a graph of their final data.  A fun few class periods of learning with lots of rich learning (and lots of splattered eggs in the drop zone!)

Get Crackin' Project

budget list

notes chart