We made it! 

I hope you have a relaxing, or exciting, or whatever you want it to be, summer!

Don't forget to stop by and see me when you're in 7th grade!

The tsunami turned into a hurricane!

We had a leak in the tsunami tank when we were filling it up this morning, but Mr. Corbett, Mr. Hansen, and I still wanted to see if the earthquake towers would survive. So, we lined up the houses and...

The kids had a blast, and there were survivors!

And some wet architects.

And some just didn't hold up.

The tsunami tank is almost ready! We will be destroying testing the earthquake towers against tsunamis tomorrow.

For the past couple of weeks, Mr. Hansen, Mr. Corbett, and I have been putting together videos for next year's plate tectonics unit. We'd hoped to have it done for this year, but we couldn't coordinate our meeting with the Northwest Seismic Network soon enough. I spent last weekend editing, so I showed the videos today. They're not as perfect as I strive for (need to work on the sound). Check them out!

With the time we had left, I showed my favorite Mark Rober video. Always a hit!

The companies had a few minutes to purchase last-minute materials for the first 15 minutes of class. Then, they copied the materials they bought and the final amount on the back of the Final Design sheet. 

Then, the shaking began! Each company introduced themselves to the class by telling us their company name and their slogan. We shook four at a time on the shake table. We shook them for 15 seconds and then assessed the damage. The kids had a table on their Final Design sheet that showed how much money the damage would cost. After the shaking, they subtracted that amount from their total spent on the tower to determine the final amount of money left to spend on tsunami defenses. 

We will do the tsunami testing tomorrow or Wednesday, depending on when the tank is completely set up.

 

 

Students will not need their binders anymore. I provided table groups with a folder to keep page 9 in. They will turn it in when it is completed next week. Any missing work needs to be turned in by Monday, June 16th.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We're getting close! I gave each table group a folder to keep their Earthquake Towers Project packet and Final Design sheet in, so they could take home their science binders. How many of them will make it home? I didn't let the kids throw binders away in my classroom - hopefully they made it home safely.

Today, the companies should have finished Step 5 in the Earthquake Tower Project packet after testing their prototypes. 

Once their prototypes were tested, they calculated the amount of money they spent and how much they had left for their final tower and put that amount on the Final Design sheet. The money left can be used to improve the tower, or on defenses from the tsunami that will hit on Tuesday. Many groups feel they don't need to spend more money and are happy with their prototype; others need a lot of work!

On Monday, we will do the final shake!

 

Students should think back to the Evaluating Solutions videos that demonstrated how different barriers (sea walls, rock armor, etc.) helped protect the coast.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The building continued today. The prototypes are looking good! A few groups were testing their designs today and deciding what they might need to do to improve their structures. 

Tomorrow, the kids will get the final design sheet and work on their final budget for their prototype and determine how much money they have left for retrofitting or stabilizing their design. If they have enough money left, they will get to spend it on tsunami defences.

Early warnings, clear communication, and physical structures to protect people and the coastline.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The engineers are discovering how difficult it is to build a tower, let alone one that will withstand an earthquake.

Many groups aren't using what they learned from the research they did until they discover that a straight up and down tower isn't standing up very well. When I reminded them to look back at their notes, they wrote that they were going to use cross beams and other structural support. Then, they went back to the Earthquake-Proof Home Depot to purchase more supplies.

Many companies haven't gotten to test their towers yet. But, I assured them that most companies, when they get to the point that they're ready to test, don't need to completely rebuild. Sometimes they just need to retrofit and add extra support. They should have plenty of time to complete their structures tomorrow and be ready to test on Friday.

Example:

My building will shake

And it will sway side to side

But it won't fall down

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Most groups started building their towers today. This is their prototype, which they will test when they are ready and attempt to rebuild or improve before the final test. 

The companies came to the "Earthquake-Proof Home Depot" to purchase their supplies.

They had the entire class period to work on their design. When they were done for the day, they put what they'd built so far and their materials in their parking spot on the counter.

We are aiming for the kids to test their prototypes by the end of class tomorrow and work on the final design to test at the end of class on Thursday or possibly Friday at the beginning of class. 

Truth: Earthquakes are caused by tectonic plates shifting

Truth: Earthquakes shake the ground up and down, then side to side

Lie: Earthquakes cause blizzards

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Earthquake Safe House Research should have been done by the end of class on Friday. Today, the companies used the Earthquake Towers Project instructions to start their project.

Part 1: 

Just like the Save the Penguins project, the kids came up with a name for their company and assigned jobs to each other. The jobs include the CEO, the accountant, the time manager, and the supply manager. They also came up with a slogan.

Part 2:

Using their notes, the companies compared the information they gathered from the videos they watched and the website they used, and chose what they thought would be important to make their structure strong enough to prevent damage from shaking.

Part 3:

Students worked independently to create a design for a tower to withstand earthquakes. They calculated the cost of the materials and attempted to stay well under the $500,000 limit. 

Once each person completed their design and how much it would cost to build, they brought it to me for constructive criticism, ideas, and approval. Only after each individual was approved could the kids work with their company again to compare their designs and create the design for their prototype. This is where most companies will start tomorrow.

Example:

I feel shaking now

Drop, cover, hold - there's danger

Dumb tectonic plates!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Classes were extra short due to the half-day schedule.

We started with a video about shake tables, and I showed an example of our shake tables. Not quite as scientifically accurate as the ones in the video, but we do what we can.

How do you make an earthquake? With our amazingly, scientifically accurate shake tables: 

The kids used the time they had to finish their research by filling in the information they needed on the Natural Hazards Project Research page. Most were just finishing their last video. If they completed their research, I gave them the Earthquake Towers Project packet, and they worked with their partners to come up with their company name, their jobs, and their slogan. Monday, we will officially start the project.