Woodside School Students Rise To The Occasion

Students in Mrs. Wolf’s fifth grade SAGE program participated in an Invengineering convocation with several other districts in the area. This design technology is a blend of science and invention which allows the children to be involved in real life problem solving. Each team was given all the materials needed to construct a balsa wood tower that would meet the specifications of size and shape. The purpose of a building’s structure is to guarantee that the building will be able to withstand the forces acting upon it. Therefore, the goal was to construct the most efficient tower possible, determined by calculating the load relative to the mass.

Beginning in September students read and researched online about how towers are built, what forces they must stand up against, different types of joints, and famous towers that have been built.

In addition, to the actual cutting and gluing of the wood, the students had to create and draw a scaled diagram, and they were required to keep a log throughout the project. At the exhibition, the towers were placed into a structural tester to determine their efficiency. One team chose to create a photo journal of the steps involved. As part of their ninety second presentations each team also created a display board. The Woodside Workers, made up of Ben, Nick, Lindsay, Rachel and Karl, designed T-shirts with their team name; they were the second place team, one of only two teams awarded a Gold Certifcate. The Wood Wizards, consisting of John, Jacquie, Nicole, Sarah and Steven, came in fourth out of eleven teams and received a Silver Certificate. Students on both teams donned hard hats for their “construction project” debut. This project enabled the students to refine their critical and creative thinking skills and encouraged them to work together as a team.