"What is an Engineer?" Results (BMA)

We had the kids do the second half of the "What is an Engineer?" activity before making bio-plastic. There were some interesting differences from week 1. I didn't see any "mad scientists" this time, and there was quite a bit more variety in the Engineer box. We also asked the students about their favorite activities of the year (the bouncy balls carried the day).

For the "science" box, one of our students said she wanted to draw where she does science... At the beginning of the year we got lots of labs (or archetypal parodies of labs). But she drew her school instead, clearly labeled "BMA." To me, this is a pretty big leap; to move science as a concept from something that happens in "labs" (which are mysterious, abstract ideas) to something that happens at her school, which is very real to her.

So here is another plug for the take-home-kits idea. We should be designing engaging, exploratory activities that students can do at home without us prompting the discussion. The Take-home-kit need not be a flashy chemical reaction or slick mechanical device. It could be a guided exploration of science around the home. Perhaps during a week where we are talking about energy efficiency, we can have kids do a "treasure hunt" around their home and count up the fluorescent lights vs. incandescent lights.