ArreniteDesign, build, test
Read together
Engineers follow steps: plan, build, test, improve.
A first try often fails. That is how we learn.
Do it
- Choose a problem: keep a toy boat afloat with a cargo of coins.
- Draw a plan, build the boat from foil, and test it in a tub.
- Count how many coins it holds before it sinks.
- Change one thing, such as the shape, and test again.
Talk about it
- What did you change?
- Did it get better?
For the grown-up
Failure is part of design. Praise the testing, not just the success. Supervise closely around any water, even a shallow tub.
Where this comes from
- NGSS Lead States, Next Generation Science Standards: For States, By States (National Academies Press, 2013), performance expectation 3-5-ETS1-2 (comparing solutions to a design problem)
- Petroski, H., To Engineer Is Human: The Role of Failure in Successful Design (St. Martin's Press, 1985)
- American Academy of Pediatrics, “Prevention of Drowning” (policy statement), Pediatrics (2019)
Written with AI assistance and checked against the sources listed. Please read it before sharing it with a child.