Construction Unit Project

And off we go!  For the first unit study of the school year, we are looking at organization.  In the first segment, we are discussing construction.  Topics include:

• Construction Materials and Style
• Units of Measurement and Unit Conversions
• The construction of the Temples (specifically the temple of Zerubbabel in Israel discussed in the book of Ezra and the Temple of Solomon from 1 Kings 6)
• Many more...

At the end of the unit, we had the kids do a few things to bring together all the things that they had learned.  First, we had them build bridges using nothing but paper.   We wanted them to see if they could design a bridge that actually held things up (in this case, Matchbox cars), and how much it could hold.  Here are Meagan and Jacob getting to work on the project.

Meagan's finished bridge...

Jacob's finished bridge...

Now, to see how many cars it will hold...

All told, Meagan's bridge was able to hold about 27 Matchbox cars.  Quite an impressive feat!

Jacob managed to hold up about 6.

So when it was all said and done, we had a practical discussion (led by the engineer in the house) about the differences between Meagan's and Jacob's design and why Meagan's was able to hold up so much more.  We discussed different problems based on the same theme.  For instance, we had them try to work out how to hold up a book using a single piece of paper and then, to see how many that same paper could hold simultaneously (an illustration I saw for the first time in my Seminary days).

Next, we had them each build houses out of Legos, with the goal to make them as sturdy as possible.  When they were done, we tested them, using a homemade "wrecking ball".  The kids...well...they're kids and we told them to break stuff.  Of course they had fun with it.  We got Meagan doing hers on video.

Finally, we had them build a replica of Solomon's Temple in Minecraft (because we just had to use it SOMEHOW for educational purposes).  We used it both to discuss layout as well as to see what they remembered from their study of the Old Testament. Both kids being in to Minecraft at the moment, it was an instant success.

All in all, the unit was a success.  Our next unit is Astronomy (Jacob's current favorite subject) and the organization of the universe.   It's sure to be fun.

- Josh