Space Shelter
Students are given the following engineering challenge: "The invasion has taken place and we need to find a new home. To ensure your survival beyond Earth's occupation you must design a shelter that can be built on another planet." Then students research the characteristics of a planet of their choosing. They design shelter that enables them to survive on a new planet, and explain it in words to the rest of the class. This is a great activity to add to a unit on the solar system.
Students create shelters to live on another planetCopyright Microsoft Corporation, 1983-2001
If it were necessary to build shelter on another planet, many types of engineers would be involved. Civil and environmental engineers would design the structure, while electrical and mechanical engineers would design power sources for the shelter. Depending on the planet and the shelter complexity, other types of engineers, such as materials, computer, biomedical, environmental and chemical engineers, would be involved in the project, too.
- Research skills
- Knowledge of planets
- Application of research results
- Design techniques
- Presentation skills