Technology Challenge .

The Technology Challenge consists of two parts; the construction of the K’Nex Tower and the assembly of the Ping Pong Ball Launcher.

K’Nex: Part of the team must construct a tower for the Ping Pong Ball Launcher to sit on. They must think about the height and structure they are going to build and what shapes they can come up with to make the structure as strong as possible. The tower must also have a platform so that the Ball Launcher can be aimed accurately at a target. There will be paper available for them to plan and design there K’Nex Tower.

Launch Pad The students will be given a parts list and a diagram to follow to put together and wire up the Launch Pad.

All the necessary equipment will be provided in parts bins laid out on a table. The students will need to think about how they will wire up the motors so that they spin opposite directions. The students’ must think about the assembly and how to get the best performance out of the end product.

Once the Tower and the Launchpad have been built the students can test their finished products. They should use the platform on the tower to aim at a target. Time permitting the students can plan further and incorporate some sort of feed system so that the table-tennis balls can be fired one after the other WITHOUT them feeding them in individually. Use sketches for planning. Again materials will be provided they can use card or K’Nex.

The Teams should be able to demonstrate that they can hit the target with their machine with ONE table tennis ball and then TWO table-tennis balls in succession. And also demonstrate how far they can fire ONE table tennis ball.

The Workshop runs for half a day and we can work with a maximum of 32 students 8 Teams of 4 students.

We would normally recommend that the workshop takes place in a hall or gym, but a large classroom would be ok.

We trust that a teacher will be present throughout the workshop and any extra support is welcome.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Regards, Jess

Promoting Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths Cumbria STEM Centre Ltd, Kendal College, Milnthorpe Road, Kendal, Cumbria LA9 5AY Tel: 01539 814617 Fax: 01539 814601 www.cumbriastemcentre.co.uk Registered Charity No. 1137364