My students need text books to learn the engineering and fabricating details necessary to design and build a kinetic four-legged creature powered by electric motors.
FULLY FUNDED! Mr. Pitochelli's classroom raised $297
This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Students
The students enrolled in this one-of-a-kind engineering class will learn the physics involved in creating a moving support structure (electric motors, gears, hinges, pulleys, etc) in addition to the fabrication techniques (welding, fastening (tap & die, rivet), cutting, drilling) to build projects.
My students will be mostly 11th graders who have little to no experience in engineering design and fabrication.
The students will have varying academic experiences, skill, and abilities. Many of the students have not had any prior physics or mechanics classes. Many of our students will have an art background but want to expand their abilities to make their art come alive through kinetic motion and animation. Many of our students will have solid science backgrounds but have limited art and design experience. In addition, our students represent a diverse spectrum of socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds.
My Project
Our Mechanical Arts class will help students become more career and college ready. Our classroom will be outfitted with machinery (cutting, drilling, welding, 3D printing) and raw-materials (wood, aluminum, plastic) necessary create any structure students envision. Students will be required to build working models of creatures that demonstrate bio-mechanical principles of motion, structure, and force. Required student activities include 1) Throwing Arm Project, 2) Head turning tower, 3) Walking Dog project, and 3) Robosaurus. In all these projects, students will design and build the creature from scratch. Students will learn the engineering process, from the ground on up. Students will learn the physics involved in building truss-type structures (torque, stress types, materials strengths, etc) as it applies to biological skeletal structures. Students will learn proper fabrication techniques involved in cutting, forming, and fastening of wood and aluminum.
The donations will allow students to access a unique resource that was written by a mechanical engineer and teacher.
This text contains thorough non-technical explanations and examples of the types of fabrications necessary to build the moving mechanisms our students need for developing their projects. Students will benefit from this resource in the classroom and at home as they can check out the books.
More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mr. Pitochelli and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
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