Honorable Mention
Download:Complete Paper (PDF)

Developed by:
David J. Hortman
Milton Hershey School
Hershey, PA

Teaching Objective:
The King of the Hill project provides an opportunity for students to become engineers through an active learning experience and allows students to use their math and science knowledge for practical applications.

Learning Objectives:
The physical science concepts this project covers are forces and motion more specifically, friction and mass.  The goal of the King of the Hill is to design and build a vehicle that moves quickly and has the mass to prevent an opponent from reaching their goal.  Students are shown how different materials have different amounts of friction when placed against an object.  Students can hypothesize what amount of force will be needed to move their design (see science standards page 2).  Once they have a working vehicle they can measure the force used and then calculate how efficiently their design uses energy.  Mathematical concepts such as geometry can also be covered in this project.  Students are shown how round objects with different diameters can travel at different speeds.  Engineering principles include brainstorming of ideas, analyzing, testing, and revision of ideas.  Students can work individually or in teams of two.  Using creative problem-solving techniques (see page 6), students brainstorm about the best material to use, and then design their solutions based on their brainstorming ideas.  By having each team create its own design, each solution can be very unique.

Curriculum Integration:
This project not only shows students how science, technology and mathematics work together, but it also allows them to use their language arts skills.  Before the competition begins, each team gives an oral presentation to the class describing how their device works, and the principles of force and motion they are taking advantage of in their solution.  The teacher can also have the each team describe what a simple machine is, how many there are, and point out the different ones used in their design.  After the competition, each team submits a written report stating what the team did at each step in the problem-solving process.  This report ends with a conclusion stating why the device was successful or what changes could have been made to make it more successful.  Students? art skills are utilized by having them make a drawing of their device to scale with written descriptions placed beside key components.

Assessment:
Individual and team efforts are judged according to the rubric.  Students are scored in two areas.  The first is function.  Does the solution move by itself?  Does the solution use the required materials?  Is the solution?s starting size within the specified limits?  The second is how the solution finished in the competition.  Each student receives a copy of the rubric when the project is assigned.

Please download the full project PDF file to view full activity and rubric.

Alignment with National Standards:

Science - National Research Council's National Science Education Standards

1 - Scientific Inquiry

• Identify questions and concepts that guide scientific investigation
• Design and conduct scientific investigations
• Formulate and revise scientific explanations and models using
  logic and evidence
• Recognize and analyze alternative explanations and models
• Communicate and defend a scientific argument

2- Physical Science

• Motions and forces

3 - Science and Technology

• Abilities of technological design
• Understandings about science and technology

Technology - International Technology Education Association?s Standards for Technological Literacy

1 - Nature of Technology

• Core concepts of technology
• Relationships among technologies and the connections between technology and other fields

2 - Design

• Attributes of design
• Engineering design
• Role of troubleshooting, research and development, invention and
  innovation, and experimentation in problem solving

3 - Abilities for a Technological World

• Apply design processes

4 - Use and maintain technological products and systems

• Assess the impact of products and systems
• The Design World
• Energy and power technologies
• Transportation technologies
• Manufacturing technologies

Contact Information:
David J. Hortman
Milton Hershey School
PO Box 830
Hershey, PA  17033
E-mail: hortmand@mhs-pa.org