Rain Gutter Regatta!

thingiverse

Rain Gutter Regatta! Keep Your Mind in the Clouds and Your Boat in the Gutters! Experiment with different boat hull types or invent your own to glide most efficiently through the water. Design a hull to see how efficiently it can be pulled across the rain gutter. Race the clock or head-to-head against two gutters for double the excitement and mess! Print Settings: Printer Brand: MakerBot Printer: MakerBot Replicator 2 Supports: No Resolution: Standard Default settings Infill: 10% Post-Printing: To create a track, purchase a rain gutter, end caps for the gutter, string, two small pulleys, and a few fender washers to use as weights. I used a metal paper clip as a tow hook to pull the boats. Assemble as shown in the photo. (To attach the upper pulley, I used a wire hanger bent into a hook and hooked it to our drop ceiling grid. You may have to get creative with your surroundings.) How I Designed This: I used SolidWorks to design three different types of vessel hulls to compare and contrast how they make their way through the water. However, students could easily design a hull in any 3D modeling software they are familiar with using simple shapes and print their design. Custom Section: Project: Rain Gutter Regatta! Objectives: Upon completing this project, students will: * Have an understanding of fluid friction and turbulence * Be able to use a 3D modeling program and simple shapes to make a hull of their choice * Be able to explain why their boat performed the way it did, compare its performance to classmates, and explain one thing they could do to make it better. Audiences: This project is designed for middle school level with 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade mixed classes. It could easily be modified to fit elementary level students or high school students. Preparation: For the track, you'll need to purchase a rain gutter, end caps for the gutter, string, two small pulleys, and a few fender washers to use as weights. Assemble as shown in the sketch. I used a metal paper clip as a tow hook to pull the boats. You can print out the three hull examples I designed for demo purposes. Steps! Introduce the project, show kids the rain gutter trough, and explain how the weighted pulley system pulls each hull with the same amount of energy or force. Show the difference between the example hulls, pointing out the water's turbulence in each case. Explain fluid friction and how it's slowing down boat movement. Then turn the kids loose on a 3D modeling program they have experience using. Or use this as an opportunity to teach the program! Students can print designs after approval and race the clock and their classmates. Additional Ideas: 1. Give them size restrictions, examples: 1 ¼ X 3 X 6. 2. Inform students that their boat needs a place for the tow hook to be attached. 3. Students could work in groups or alone. 4. You could get two rain gutters (four pulleys, two weights) for head-to-head races. 5. Students' boats could race with a payload. 6. Ditch the pulley/weight power system and place a fan at one end of the gutter. The students would then have to harness the wind to move their boat along. 7. Ditch the pulley/weight power system and give the student a AA battery and a small motor. They would then have to design a boat and prop. 8. For younger students (learning to Hypothesis), you could have them hypothesize which of the example boats are going to be the fastest, carry the most weight, etc. Results: At the end of this project, students will have reached all objectives. They will type a short paragraph to explain why their boat performed the way it did, compare its performance to classmates, and explain one thing they could do to make it better.