Welcome back to the Lathrop Engineering Lab! Everyone in this class has had a wide range of engineering experiences, and our first unit will give you a chance to get back into the lab and remember (or learn) how to use some of our tools. For this unit, your job is to make your own custom version of some type of game! As you do this, you’ll be expected to:
- Clearly select a game to create and sketch a picture
- Make a plan for how you can build it using at least 3 machines in our lab
- Build the game, provide and receive feedback on games
In addition to our engineering work, we’ll also do some small work to think about applying to colleges and scholarships. While you’re budgeting time for your game creation, you also need to do two college tasks.
- College Task 1: Research 3 colleges
- College Task 2: Request 4 letters of recommendation
When you’re done, you’ll have two physical models and multiple diagrams of your model!
Unit 2 QuizThe engineering part of our work this unit is to design, plan, and build a personalized version of some board game. In the past, students have made a 3D checkers game, someone made a fancy version of Break Out, someone worked on a custom croquet set, and someone else even worked on a velcro-vest Operation game. Here, you get to pick your own game to create!
As part of this, we’ll focus heavily on the Design Brief. A design brief is used to define an engineering problem. Watch the “Design Brief” video while taking a full page of notes. Then, create a complete design brief in your engineering notebook that clarifies your game design project, its criteria, and its constraints.
Then, we’ll get to building! You get to brainstorm, design, and build your own custom game using at least three machines in the Makerspace. Make a good plan for getting your work done, and don’t forget your college tasks.
GRADING & PROCESS
Engineering Design Brief
Mr. Benshoof’s approval of the design brief
Build your game!
Document your engineering process
Have Mr. Benshoof check-off your completed project
Design Brief
Documentation
Build
As we continue thinking about next year and beyond, we’ll do some research on different colleges. You may already know what university you want to go to, but we’ll take some time to investigate the programs, opportunities, and associated costs of attending UAF as well as 2 other schools. It’s worth thinking about the opportunities that different schools will provide, and also looking at how much you can expect to pay for those different experiences. No school is perfect, but you’ll need to make a tough decision later next semester as you choose your post-Lathrop plans!
Lastly, you need to request 4 letters of recommendation for use in future applications. You should ask for 2 from teachers you’ve had and worked well with. The other 2 letters should come from community members that you’ve interacted with – church or youth group leaders, employers, or coaches. These letters will help give you choices when putting together various applications.
GRADING & PROCESS
Complete the college research sheet for UAF and two other schools you’re interested in
Request 4 letters of recommendation
Have Mr. Benshoof check-off your college research sheets
