Engineering a Ski Chair at Mt. Wachusett!

At Wachusett Ski Mountain we held an engineering competition. Skiers and boarders in grades K-7 participated! Contestants were asked to design a model of gondola (for a lift) from paper and see how much weigh it could hold. Contestants were then challenged to re-design their gondola in order to have it hold more weight. We used marbles to add weight to the chairs. The only requirement was that they could not use more than one 8.5 x 11 inch sheet of construction paper. They were offered three different types of tape (clear, masking, and duck tape), Popsicle sticks, string, and aluminum foil.

First time builders:
First Place: Camryn: 144 marbles
Second Place: Tim and Jack: 137 marbles

When it came to engineering a better chair the second time:

First Place: Caleb was our master at holding the most weight: 812 marbles

Second Place: Nick was our innovator, being the first to venture on his own: (308 marbles).

 Honorable Mention to: Brendon, Nico, Logan, Genevieve, JP, Owen, Andrew, Brady, Nora, and KiKi! Great job everyone!!!! For those of you, who took stuff home….we anxiously, await your results!

October 24th The NEW Catch the Science Bug Episode Debuts on PBS RI

On the set at the Pawtucket Water Treatment Facility

“To: Faucets, From: Clouds” will have make its very first television debut on PBS Rhode Island on Sunday, October 24th at 10:30 am! 

This episode is all about the remarkable trip that water makes from clouds all the way to your faucets.  Along the way we meet the engineers and technicians who help clean our drinking water at the Pawtucket Water Treatment Facility.  We learned that being able to supply water for a city is no small feat!