SCATS campers already knew their challenge when arriving to class on Day 3. They had discussed previously how the astronauts in Apollo 13 ran into a serious challenge in space and had to use their creative thinking and analytical skills to fix an electrical issue to get safely back to Earth. The task at hand is to get 50 paper clips from the floor to the ceiling with long balloons, tape, a small cup, a straw, and fishing wire hanging from the ceiling as their materials.
It was so fascinating to watch the different approaches teams were taking to figure out the task at hand. One group had weight estimations on paper along with the distance challenge and was calculating the potential effects from their formulas.
CJ and Jackson were having success with trial and error. “I think we have tried about 12 times to get where we are,” said the boys. The first attempts were a full balloon with a lot of tape wrapped around it with the full length of the straw and the cup to carry the paper clips. They added balloons as a cluster in early attempts which did not appear to help with the upward motion. Failed attempts did not deter the campers from trying a new method. “Less is more,” said Madeline Morgan, class teacher. This hint put the guys on a new path as they cut their straw, took off the cup, and used less tape along with one balloon. By the time class ended, their single balloon had made it to the ceiling with two paper clips. This was a definite win! While they didn’t get all 50 paper clips up, they have seen progress which is what we hope for in research. As in real-world research and experiments, there is typically not an easy answer or solution. Bravo to the teams today for identifying the problems, creating a plan of action, and working together to move forward with the task!
