"Learning to Ski with Mr. Magee" STEAM Challenge

After reading, Learning to Ski with Mr. Magee by Maine's own, Chris Van Dusen, students were given this STEAM challenge to design and create a statue skier and working chairlift. 

Before jumping right into the building, students had to draw a diagram of their plan. What materials would they use? How could they create a safety bar for the chairlift that would raise and lower? Would the skier, Mr. Magee, be able to both sit in the chairlift and stand to ski down a ramp? 

Using just tinfoil, craft sticks, tape, string, clothespins, and q-tips, students began to build. We found many challenges, including finding the right tape and glue to stick well, getting Mr. Magee to both sit and stand, creating a working safety bar, getting the chair to suspend without tipping. Students really had to communicate with their parter and lots of problem solving and critical thinking for this project. 

Finally, when they thought their design was complete, they tested their group's creation using a moving lift line to get Mr. Magee to the top of Mt. Snow, and then a down wooden ramp to ski downhill. If it failed (Which, by the way, we "Woo hoo!" and celebrate in the Makerspace. After all, failures help us to learn!), then they went back to the design process to improve it, and tried again.

For students that had time remaining, they were given an additional task to add ski attire for Mr. Magee - goggles, helmets, ski pants, mittens! 

This was a great STEAM challenge to return to after vacation! Now our fingers are crossed for lots of real snow!