My students need 36 mousetrap cars, Gorilla Glue and balsa wood in engineering class in order to design and build cars and gliders in an engineering class.
Exploration! Wonder! Curiosity! Do you remember the first time you flew on a plane? Or saw on the news the plan for a new prototype car? This is what I want my students to experience when they have the opportunity to design and build something they create. My motto is Science Teaches Every Mind = STEM.
Each of the 32 students in this new engineering class signed up for this as their only elective in an K-8 school.
There is a mix of 6th,7th and 8th grade male and female students who all have a passion for discovery and exploration. They represent approximately a quarter of the entire middle school (grades 6-8) student population. There is almost a 50-50 split of male to female ratio. They are eager to learn and build something that comes from their own mind, their creation!
Our school has very little financial resources that would fully support this new class and that is why I am asking for your support. Most of the students have had little exposure to a strong science program, let alone an enrichment class. They might be lucky to go on one field trip a year, usually within walking distance or city bus. But that is rare, due to the financial situation of the students. Please help support these students who choose to be in this engineering class because of their passion of discovery.
My Project
In this engineering class we will be using the balsa wood to design and build airplane gliders; launch them in class and during a school-wide engineering competition. These materials will be useful in building something that is sturdier than paper and can be redesigned for later flight. The students will learn about safety using various tools, aerodynamics, motion, force and gravity.
They will be able to apply these concepts when they build a mousetrap car. Not only do the same concepts apply but they will be developing and reinforcing skills such as developing a hypothesis, testing their model, redesign it, using mathematics to determine its velocity and speed, graphing data, etc. All of these skills and more will further strengthen their academic endeavors as well as improving their confidence and taking pride in something that they worked so hard to achieve.
Your donation of balsa wood and the mousetrap cars will send a powerful message to the students that someone cares about their future.
You are willing to support their dreams and aspirations right now, not later, but now! This project with make a broad impact on the students because they will gain skills in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, STEM. But even just as important is how they see themselves as a problem-solver that can be applied academically and socially.
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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 Ms. Ramsey and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.