Cardboard Canoe Challenge

The total amount of achievements our team completed was 14. Our idea for the boat was a flat bottom craft with a slanted front. When we put the boat in the water it was able to float and make it across the pool. However it was unstable and would sometimes flip. After a couple of laps our cardboard boat fell apart. Although it never sank, it was not able to make it across the pool.

Design Achievements:•
Define the Problem and Brainstorm Solutions - We were trying to build a cardboard canoe that could float across the pool
Criteria & Constraints - Canoe must fit through door: only duct tape and cardboard can be used and it must hold one person
 Sketch Ideas








• Prototype Ideas -








Select an Approach -We decided to use a boat with a slanted front so it could easily move through the water
Surface area! - our surface area was 63.7 ft^2

Build Achievements:
Build It! -









The Early Bird Gets the Achievement - Our team finished building our boat first.



Test Achievements:The Longest - Our boat was able to stay afloat the entire
Balance Master - Matthew stood in our boat for 5 seconds
Videographer - Here is a picture -  we will post a video of him standing up once the full video is posted










Reflection Achievements:
Feedback  - ten feedback ideas we got were that: we could have made it bigger, wider, put more weight in the front, made a paddle, make it sturdier, have a longer rope, make a v bottom, make a box, make it longer, and to put less weight in the back
How Low Did You Go? - Our boat went a few inches under water, but it wasn't stable so it would tip from side to side
Redesign - Next time I would make the bottom of the boat bigger so it would be more stable. I would keep the slanted front design because it was a succesful aspect. I would also use less cardboard on the sides.
(Make Your Own Achievement) - Unsinkable- Our boat never sank, it alway stayed afloat

Mousetrap Racecar

Results of our mousetrap racecar: After building our car and testing it in the race, our car was only able to travel about four feet from the start. The initial design was good but there were still a few flaws, for example the string would get caught on the axle and stop the car. Overall we did successfully make a mousetrap racecar, but it wasn't able to compete to win against some of the other cars.

Achievements: Total 11

Design Stage:
"Brainiac"
"Visualize it"

Build Stage:
"Build It"
"The Price of Glory" Our total cost would have been $22

Test (Compete) Stage:  
"Competitor" We competed in the challenge
"Feedback"  Some feedback we got was, our car could have been built with different materials to make it lighter and faster.

Iterate Stage:
"Re-work" We would add some piece to extend the lever of the mouse trap.
"Game Changer" A new rule could be bonus points for unique designs.If a team built an unusual design that still worked they could earn points.
 "Name it" Most Improved For the team that had the greatest distance inprovements in their trials.

Clean Up Stage:
"Leave It Cleaner Than You Found It" We cleaned up our work area

Reflection Stage:"Design/Build" During our building process we would test the car and analyze what worked and what didn't. For example we did multiple trials of placing the string in different place to decide which place was the most effective. We decided that one string would be better thatn two because it was more effecient and didn't get caught on the axel.