http://www.teachengineering.org/view_activity.php?url=collection/wpi_/activities/wpi_design_packing/design_packing.xmlactivitytext/xmlCenter for Engineering Educational Outreach, designmailpackagepackagingpostal systemshippingspaghetti

Students use their creative skills to determine a way to safely mail raw (dry, uncooked) spaghetti using only the provided materials. To test the packing designs, the spaghetti is mailed through the postal system and evaluated after delivery.

Packaging engineers are responsible for creating packages for all types of products. They design cardboard boxes that are simply held together with glue and/or tape (or neither), boxes that have intricate folds to increase strength, and protective material used within the boxes. When designing packaging, they consider the size and shape of the object, whether it is fragile, and if it needs special temperature control. Students learn about design and packaging techniques. Students learn what happens to mail in the postal system.4320TeachEngineering.orgS101F91AMassachusettsScience1.1 Identify materials used to accomplish a design task based on a specific property, i.e., weight, strength, hardness, and flexibility.35S100EBE2MassachusettsScience2.3 Identify relevant design features (e.g., size, shape, weight) for building a prototype of a solution to a given problem.35United StatesCopyright 2012 - Center for Engineering Educational Outreach, Tufts Universityhttp://www.teachengineering.org/policy_ipp.phphttp://www.teachengineering.org/2011-11-124Teacher