Operation Airdrop: Designing a Solution to Protect Cargo

Cargo in aircrafts is subject to forces such as high altitudes, rough landings, and even rough air. The characteristics of materials used to develop devices to support airdrops are created by engineers who are responsible for innovating products that are durable, reliable, and functional from start to finish. Mechanical engineers possess an understanding of materials principles, physics, engineering, biomimetics and mathematics.

After this activity, students should be able to:

• Apply the engineering design process.
• Design and construct a prototype.
• Test and refine their designs.
• Communicate their design process and results.

 Students should have a basic understanding force, mass, push, pull, and demonstrate curiosity in questioning why objects that exist in the sky do not fall to earth.

Can you imagine a world where there is a limited supply (scarcity) of every natural resource? Think about it: a world with little to no food, fuel, building materials, water… the list goes on and on.

Recently the United States experienced a year where we saw grocery stores with empty shelves as there was a shortage of goods. This was hard on a lot of people but eventually the supply lines increased, and our shelves were filled again.

However, there are some places in the world that have it far worse that just sporadically empty store shelves. In situations such as these, other organizations may try to provide support (i.e., food and water). But how do these other organizations get food and water to places that are not accessible by roads because of a natural event?

Today you all will become engineers and create a solution to a relevant problem: being able to provide humanitarian aid via an airdrop. You will apply the engineering design process and have the following constraints for your design: It must slow the speed of the cargo once released, the design must be able to float on water, and the design must be in the form of a spider’s web which will act as a buffer.

Before the Activity

• Make copies of the Engineering Design Notebook (PDF), Operation Airdrop Pre-Assessment (PDF), Operation Airdrop Formative Assessment (PDF), Operation Airdrop Summative Assessment (PDF)
• Load videos used in this activity to present to students.
• Inform students that they will be working in their science notebooks and for the purposes of collecting data, students should have their notebooks on their desks.

With the Students

1. Have each student individually complete the five-question pretest.
2. Explain that students have been tasked by the Mechanical Engineering Department of the United Nations to get food aid to the people of Ayod county, South Sudan who are cut off from access via land, due to conflict. Show the students the following video that explains why this task is necessary. Behind the scenes: WFP humanitarian airdrops: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt8N4NnomVA.
3. Explain that students will be using biomimicry to solve their problem. Biomimicry is the creating  materials, structures, and systems that are modeled on biological entities and processes. An example of biomimicry:  

Perhaps the most famous example of biomimicry is Velcro. In 1941, engineer George de Mestral was walking his dog when he noticed burrs sticking to his legs. When he studied the burrs under magnification, he found their clinging property was the result of hundreds of tiny hooks.  His observation sparked the idea for the very useful invention we know as Velcro fastening!

4. Show the following videos:

• • Beautiful Spider Web Build Time-lapse by BBC Earth:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNtSAQHNONo 
  • The world is poorly designed. But copying nature helps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMtXqTmfta0
  • Inertia: forces and motion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBjmO8w-QqU

5. Divide students into groups of 4.
6. Provide a set of materials to each group.
7. Explain that students must design and build a solution to protect cargo during an air drop from a minimum of 4 ft. They will have three constraints:

• • Design must slow speed of cargo once released.
  • Design must be able to float on water in case food accidentally travels near it.
  • Design must be in the form of a spider’s web which will act as a buffer to protect the cargo.

8. Have students choose a team name.
9. In their teams, have students discuss and agree on the materials they will use for their spider web design.
10. Have student teams brainstorm a design for their spider web prototype. They should sketch their design and label the materials they will use on their sketch.

• • Once students sketch their design and have the teacher okay it, let them start to build their prototype using the materials they specified.
  • Once built, have each team fill their cellophane bags with 50 grains of rice and 50 dried beans and close it with a twist tie. This will be the cargo.An example of students designing their prototypes.CopyrightCopyright 2022 Tamiera N. Jones, University of Florida MRET

An example of students designing their prototypes.CopyrightCopyright 2022 Tamiera N. Jones, University of Florida MRET

11. Next have each time wrap their allotted spider web string around the cargo for the airdrop.

• • Once wrapped, the students will use fishing wire to place on the ends of their chenille sticks.
  • Once each team has a prototype of their design, have students test their design by dropping it from at least a height of four feet.
  • During this time students may want to rethink their plan, trade materials with other teams, or start over.

12. Give students time to improve their prototype and retest.
13. When student groups have their final design gather everyone together for a final test.

• • Randomly select groups to test their prototype.
  • Have each group present their design to the class before demonstrating how their prototype does in the test.  
  • Have students record their observations of the test.
  • Have students individually record what happens when their drop their prototype by completing the 5-question posttest. Encourage them to think and analyze the results from their test. 

14. Once students finish testing, give each team an opportunity to debrief and discuss their findings with the classroom.

An example of students designing their prototypes.CopyrightCopyright 2022 Tamiera N. Jones, University of Florida MRET

An example of students designing their prototypes.CopyrightCopyright 2022 Tamiera N. Jones, University of Florida MRET

Pre-Activity Assessment

Pre-Quiz: Students answer five questions in the Operation Airdrop Pre-Assessment (PDF)which will serve as their “admissions assessment” into the government program.

Activity Embedded (Formative) Assessment

Students use the Operation Airdrop Formative Assessment (PDF) to check their work throughout the engineering design process.

Post-Activity (Summative) Assessment

 Students use the Operation Airdrop Summative Assessment (PDF) to answer questions as a whole class.  

Use caution with pipe cleaners chenille sticks as they possess sharp points or edges.

For grades K-2, you can divide this activity into five thirty-minute periods which can include a day to research/brainstorm, a day to engineer the prototype, a day to focus on testing their prototype, a day for iteration, and a day that focuses on communicating the results of the experiment. (This presents the opportunity for students to break down the engineering design process further in a systematic yet interconnected way).

For lower grades, you can prep all materials for the students in advance to the desired length and/or quantity. (For example: straws and chenille sticks are cut to a specific length, the amount of rice and beans inside of the bag are prepared, all balloons have been blown up, etc. This can help support students who may have sensory issues or other special educational needs.)

For upper grades, students are given a time constraint to gather their materials. (For example: A timer can be set for 2 minutes to gather materials, a student from each team is blindfolded and gathers materials from the designated materials area to take back to their group. Students can also barter with one another, but only after their initial test.

For more advanced students, additional constraints can exist; students will only be allowed to utilize recycled materials from this list: straws, polyester spiderweb filament, and microfilament fishing line. (The brand highlighted in the materials section is microfilament, which is a recycled material.) A spiderweb must be formed using the straws cut in the same length, the same number of rice and beans must be secured for the airdrop and finally, as a twist, students must also create a slingshot from recycled materials to be verified by teacher to test their drop from a minimum of 16 ft. in the air.

Kang, Soyoung. Biomimetics: Engineering spider silk. Accessed on 20 June 2022.  https://illumin.usc.edu/biomimetics-engineering-spider-silk/ (Explains the concept of biomimetics and the processes of replication in spider silk.)

Behind the scenes: WFP humanitarian airdrops: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt8N4NnomVA

Beautiful Spider Web Build Time-lapse by BBC Earth:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNtSAQHNONo

The world is poorly designed. But copying nature helps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMtXqTmfta0

Inertia: forces and motion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBjmO8w-QqU