Children at De Singelier Elementary School study STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) in an engaging and interesting way.
They make rockets out of plastic bottles using parts printed on a 3d printer and launch them using water pressure. Students go through several stages of work to get a suitable working design and thus learn about the nature of design development, spotting the flaws of the previous version of the rocket and improve the rocket's performance accordingly.
Let's make a rocket!
Students work on the entire design of the rocket, from drawing the matrix to designing in TinkerCad and printing certain parts on a 3d printer. Children are encouraged to test the design and see what works and what doesn't.
Is the tip sharp enough? What shape should the wings be? What happens if the design changes? They embark on a research journey of trial and error to come up with a design that will allow the rocket to fly into the air.
According to the De Singelier elementary school teacher, it is important for students to understand that it is normal if an idea does not succeed immediately. Every device with us has passed the performance test, then certain parts have been improved to make the device work better.
It is useful for students to learn that some ideas are better than others and to use failed attempts to figure out what needs to be fixed to make the rocket work.
3D printing enables students to put their ideas into action.
It stimulates their creativity and encourages them to work on changing a design that isn't working. Projects like these have a significant impact on students' learning and progress - finding themselves through certain ideas in practice and certainly remembering the lessons they learn through tangible material.
You can download the entire plan according to which the students worked here .
