Learn about the Engineering Design Process, Think, Make, Try, to get ready to tackle some design challenges!

Engineers  identify problems and work to use math and science to build possible solutions to them. What examples of engineers can you think of?       

Engineers  need to talk to people to learn about problems, come up with lots of  different ways the problems might be solved, and test out those possible  solutions. Solutions don’t always work out the first time, so engineers might also have to test them out, revise and then try again.        

Can you think of something that you worked on that didn’t turn out the first time you tried it? What was it? What changes did you make when you tried it again?  

This cycle of problem solving, testing, making changes, and trying again is called  the Engineering Design Process. At the Bay Area Discovery Museum we like to call this process “Think, Make, Try.” Engineers can use Think, Make, Try to solve creative challenges, test out new ideas, and arrive at innovative solutions.       

Let’s  think about each step using an example. Let’s think of a story we all know, like the story of the Three Little Pigs. (Retell the story as necessary.)     

Let’s THINK about the problem. What is the problem in this story? The problem could  be that the pigs need a house strong enough to withstand the wolf’s blowing, OR   from the wolf’s perspective, a way to get to the pigs. How would we learn  more about the problem? What solutions might we come up with?  Brainstorm  as a class and take notes or sketch ideas.          

Let’s MAKE a prototype. A prototype is your “sloppy copy,” a quick design for one of  your ideas for a solution. What materials would you use to build your prototype?        

Let’s TRY it out. Test out your prototype. Would the materials you chose withstand the wolf’s huffing and puffing? Observe how your prototype works. What works   well? What do you need to change? What ideas can you get from others? Make your changes, and try it out again!         

Standards for Title: Think, Make, Try: Discussion with Students