Design an alternative-energy portable light: Where are communities that don’t have electricity? What are challenges of not having light at night? What are some constraints you need to take into account to make something portable? How comfortable is it to carry or attach to yourself?.What are the elements of a house? What are their basic functions? What are the constraints you must take into consideration? What might your house need to include that might not be typical? Does it need to be portable? Does it need to be solar-powered? Design a house for the urban poor: Lead a discussion about the issue of poverty.I’ve modified a few of the ideas to create kid-friendly challenges and added some questions that can help get the creative juices flowing: ” Click the 20-page list to get even more details for classroom or program inspiration. Here are some quick and easy maker projects focused on global challenges inspired by Makezine article “ 50+ Global Issues Makers Can Solve. Want to get even craftier on a budget? These MakeDo construction snaps take cardboard building to the next level.Ģ. You can create 3D prototypes for a fraction of the price and time. Do you have access to sewing machines and leather? A metal shop? 3D printers? Use those! An alternative to slow and expensive 3D printers are 3D paper printers like Silhouette Machines. The beauty of maker projects is that they’re completely up to you, your time, and your resources. You can build a house or a car out of Popsicle sticks, straws, and aluminum foil, or you can build one out of plywood, PVC pipe, or metal. You can design prototype wallets or water filters out of string, cardboard, straws, or duct tape. Prototyping designs can be completely scaled to your budget and resources. Take, for instance, the boy who scares lions to keep his family’s livestock alive or the girls who invented a urine-powered motor to create electricity, or the toy maker who makes science toys out of trash to inspire children to live sustainably and reduce their consumption. Young people can read international stories to get ideas about how to solve a local or global challenge that concerns them. Pollution is too broad, but designing a contraption that separates oil from water could be a great one if there’s an unfortunate oil spill off Fraser Island in Queensland, Australia. However, an article about pickpocketing crime at the Olympics might inspire a design challenge to create a pickpocket-deterrent wallet or purse. For example, while crime is a worldwide problem, that’s too big and broad. The more specific the issue and community, the better. Define the underlying issue and identify your resources and constraints. If you work with middle or high school students, make the research part of the lesson plan. If you work with younger students, you might need to do some of this legwork yourself. Find a world problem for which you’d like the class or group to design a solution. Use the news and current events to inspire creative maker challenges:
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