Engineer It!

This weekend we visited the new exhibit at the Boonshoft Museum of Discovery called Engineer It! http://www.boonshoftmuseum.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=58

We first had fun in a wind tunnel. The girls both put on some "wings" and felt the difference in the wind's effect by moving into different postitions.

We also made some paper airplanes. We tried a few different designs.

Then the girls tested their design using wind to see how the plane reacted. Then they could change their design if needed. They could also see what a difference little changes in the design had on the performance of their planes.

This was an ongoing theme throughout the exhibit. Engineers use models to try different designs and make adjustments because it is a lot cheaper to make model airplanes, for example, than it is to make actual airplanes! And they learned that just because something doesn't work the first time, they shouldn't give up. Small changes can have a dramatic effect on performance.

After that, the girls had fun trying to throw their planes in a target.

There was also a station to experiment in windmill designs. You had to design a windmill and then test it for efficiency.

Next, the girls experimented with boat designs. They got to put together a boat for speed efficiency. The kids raced each other to see who made the speediest boat! The boats were pulled by a string and motor. The one that was designed to cut through the water the best, with the least resistance, won.

The girls also experimented with sailboats, building boats to be the most efficient at capturing wind energy.

The girls also tried making bridges. Georgia succeded at making a cantilever bridge.

And she was able to make a paper bridge that held up two wooden blocks.

There were a lot of other stations in the exhibit. Some dealt with gears and pulleys, or working with a crane. There was another that involved designing buildings to withstand earthquakes. There was also one for arch-building. We didn't have time to try them all on this trip. But this exhibit is there until May 14th, and we will definitely be back to have some more fun with it!

While we were there, we were lucky enough to check out the huge telescope upstairs. It was focused on the sun! They used a special filter so that we were able to look at the sun without hurting our eyes!

And, of course before leaving, the girls worked in the Animal Hospital!