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Developed by:
Kim Eberle-Wang
Springside High School
Philadelphia, PA

Introduction:
It is no secret that there is a shortage of women in engineering today.  As a teacher of 9th grade girls in an Introduction to Physics course, I have heard first hand comments like "boys are better at this" or "I can't do math, so I don't like science."  Girls enjoy expressing themselves creatively through design and construction.  They respond eagerly when provided with an engineering challenge and when given support and encouragement during the process. Attendance at a recent summer workshop for high school teachers at Harvey Mudd College of Engineering provided the background to help me to introduce aspects of the Engineering Design Process in the context of commercially available lab kit called "Building A Toothpick Tower." What resulted was a 10 day lesson plan in which girls working in engineering teams applying the basics of the engineering design process (E.D.P.) designing, constructing and testing original towers. Each tower's design had to meet specific requirements and constraints. The finished tower had to be able to withstand simulated earthquakes of varying intensities. Connections were made with earlier course material dealing with balanced forces, gravity, and waves.  The relevance of the project to current events was highlighted by homework readings from the New York Times science section, and a visit to NOVA online to from the New York Times science section and the recent NOVA documentary and website highlighting the work of forensic engineers during their in-depth investigation of the precise causes of the collapse of the World Trade Center Twin Towers for the episode "Why the Towers Fell."

Applications:

• Balanced Forces/ Force Vectors      
• Formula: Force (N) = Mass (kg) x Acceleration (m/s/s)
• Estimating Measurements
• Calculating Percent Error in Measurement
  • Formula: [Actual Weight (N) - Estimated Weight (N)]/Actual x 100
• Earthquake Waves and Energy Transfer
  • Primary (compressional), Secondary (transverse)  & surface waves
• Supporting Structures: pilings, corner braces, support beams, base isolators
• Engineering Design Process (ref 2)
• Forensic Engineering and the World Trade Center Disaster
  • NOVA: "Why the Towers Fell"/ NY Times engineering articles               

Learning Objectives:
The specific objectives of the project were (1) to apply the stages of the engineering design process, specifically the identification and prioritization of the design criteria: objectives, limiting factors and functions .to their tower design; (2)  to draw 3 alternative designs for their tower, rate each design and make a design choice on based on how well each design fits their criteria and (3) to build a stable tower based upon their chosen design from a combination of wood glue, and wood materials which varied in its ductility, weight and strength; (4) to draw appropriate connections between this lab activity and the safe design of structures for stability and its relevance to  the current work of forensic engineers investigating the structural remains of the World Trade Center disaster.

Alignment of Learning Objectives with ITEA Curriculum Standards:

ITEA Standards: International Technology Education Association

Design:

• Standard 8: students will develop an understanding of the attributes of design
• Standard 9: students will develop an understanding of engineering design
• Standard 10: students will develop an understanding of the role of troubleshooting, research and development, invention and innovation and experimentation in problem solving

Abilities of a Technological World:

• Standard 11: Students will develop abilities to apply the design process
• Standard 13: Students will develop the abilities to assess the impact of Products and systems

The Designed World

• Standard 20: Students will develop an understanding of and ability to select and use construction technologies

Lab Materials:

• Wards Towering Toothpick Disaster Kit
  • (SK-4449-11; I kit for 40 students, 3-4 students per group)
• 1Shake Rattle and Roll Board (for earthquake Simulations; Wards 36-4520)
• 2 extra bottles of wood glue
• 1 large box of Q-tips to apply glue to wood
• Wax paper to cover working space when gluing
• Water Soluble Craft Paints in 6 or more colors
• Foam paint brushes
• Newspaper to cover working areas when painting
• Tools: 4-5 pairs tin snips to cut wood, rulers, levels, tape measures, small handsaws.
• Safety goggles
• Hot glue gun for securing pilings within the foundation
• 4, 3 inch C clamps to secure building and foundation to earthquake simulator
• 6 cork borers to make holes in Styrofoam base-isolators for pilings to make a foundation

The Lab Packet (1 per student) includes:

• A coversheet with all of the assignments and due dates in the project.
• The student background information from the kit about construction for strength and stability and earthquakes
• A description and group worksheet for the Engineering Design Process (see Appendix, Worksheet 1)
• Graph paper for a labeled diagram drawn to scale for the final chosen design of the groups? tower
• An Estimating and Measuring Forces Worksheet (see Appendix, Worksheet 2)
• NY Times Science Section article: Under the Towers, Ruin and Resilience (by Dennis Overbye, 10/9/01) with study questions
• NY Times Science Section article: Wounded Buildings Offer Survival Lessons: Two Buildings Burned Only
• One Building Fell (by James Glanz, 12/0401) with study questions

Contact Information:

Kim Eberle-Wang
Science Teacher
Science Department
Springside High School
8000 Cherokee Street
Philadelphia, PA 19118
E-mail: kwang@springside.org