STEAM Mazes - Pegboard and Design Your Own

thingiverse

STEAM Maze Overview and Background Students dive into analyzing different components to craft a maze within specific parameters, creating the slowest continuing moving path possible. Lesson Plan and Activity This lesson kicks off after students grasp potential and kinetic energy concepts, demonstrating their understanding through practical application. Pre-printed peg boards and various potential parts for ramps are distributed among students. The teacher demonstrates how to construct the maze, illustrating how potential energy transforms into kinetic and vice versa. Students manipulate the pieces to experiment with prototypes, identifying the best approach to create the slowest path for the marble. Once students determine their optimal path, they create a final maze in Tinkercad. A friendly competition ensues as students compete to see who has created the slowest path. Materials Needed Laptops with internet access Tinkercad accounts (students can obtain free accounts through Project Ignite) Project Ignite Duration of Lesson One class for experimentation and prototyping, approximately four to five classes for final creation depending on student Tinkercad experience. Project: STEAM Mazes Objectives: Science Apply understanding of Force, Motion, and Energy Students investigate and grasp characteristics and interactions of moving objects. Key concepts include: a) An object's motion is described by its direction and speed; b) Changes in motion are linked to force and mass; c) Friction opposes motion as a force; d) Moving objects possess kinetic energy. Visual Arts Brainstorm multiple creative approaches to a design problem. Revise artwork based on insights gained through peer discussion. Audience: 4th-grade students Subjects: Science, Art, Computer Technology Skills: Science Make predictions and inferences from various data sources, drawing conclusions; Construct models to clarify explanations, demonstrate relationships, and solve needs. Computer Technology Use simulations to understand complex systems and processes; comprehend the role of simulations in learning.