Materials List: How to Design a Better Smartphone Case

To share with the entire class:

  • recycled or used items such as milk cartons, egg cartons, fabric, plastic, aluminum foil, toys, perfume, hair gel, lotions, coffee bags, construction paper, protein powder containers, bleach containers, Styrofoam, cloth, etc., for the Chemical and Physical Property Activity
  • 1 ream of copy/printer paper, for the Tessellations Activity
  • 1 package of brass brads or fasteners for the engineering design process, on Amazon
  • supplies for making prototypes such as Styrofoam, craft foam, paper, foil, plastic wraps, plastic or paper bags, modeling clay, silly putty, etc.
  • pad of chart paper and markers (for the Gallery Walk)
  • old cell plate lab glass slides from a science/biology teacher or purchased at Amazon, to serve as the smartphone screen surrogate; alternative: small mirrors from a dollar store or donated by others who have small mirrors they no longer want; these glass samples may more closely simulate cell phone size
  • zipper seal bags (for easy broken glass clean-up when testing the prototype protective phone cases)
  • colorful Post-it™ pads; 1 pad for every 2-3 students, such as from Amazon
  • colorful markers, pens, or pencils
  • Post-it Easel Pad Paper or regular easel pad paper and tape—1 sheet per group; note: school often provide paper for hall/doorway decoration
  • meter stick
  • masking tape, to mark the height for smartphone case testing
  • camera or cell phone, to capture slow motion
  • capability to show the class some online videos
  • access to computers with Internet access for student research
https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/uod-2266-properties-matter-design-cellphone-case