Topic: Make your own Inventor s Toolkit Objective Create tools from recycled materials that aid in engineering and designing an invention. Purpose To introduce participants to simple tools used in engineering; to offer opportunity for participants to explore and create their own concept for an invention. Materials Printed and laser-cut Young Inventor s Tool Kit flatpack Inventor s Notebook cover and graph paper Piece of string and beads Pencil and Crayons, colored Pencils, or markers Scotch Tape Book to measure Procedure Introduction Encourage a conversation about the types of items participants use every day. Tools, toys, and games are part of our daily lives, but we don t necessarily think about where they come from, or how they were made. They are all designed by someone who believes they are creating something many people will use, but unlike artists, few people will ever think about the person and how they made it. Anticipatory Set: Hand each student a Young Inventor s Tool Kit flatpack. Ask students to explore the pieces of the kit for a few minutes, but to not take them out of the cardboard. Ask students to raise their hands: If they recognize at least one of the tools? If they recognize at least three of the tools? Ask who recognizes all of the tools? Of the students with raised hands (if any), ask who knows how to use all the tools? Tell participants that by identifying and learning to use these tools, not only will they learn about tools, but they can begin to innovate, build, or make things better in their school, home, and world.
1 There are many different types of tools which ones seem intuitive to use? See the Young Inventor s Tool Kit reference sheet for tool identification and naming. Instruct students to pop out all the pieces from the Young Inventor s Tool Kit and lay them out flat. Be sure to instruct students to keep them all together, as some tools will need some assembly. 2 Using the printed directions on the Tool Kit for the caliper, instruct participants to create the caliper. Find a text book or library book and use both the Ruler and Caliper to measure it. When measuring with the caliper, use the jaws to touch the outside of the book along both of the ends you are trying to measure. Record your measurements separately in your Inventor s Handbook. Example: Caliper - {Your Measurement with Caliper}, Ruler - {Your Measurement with Ruler}. It s interesting that both the Ruler and Caliper use both Inches and Metric measurements. Why do you think that is? Every tool has its best use, even when tools seem similar. Rulers are great for measuring flat things, but calipers are best for measuring three-dimensional objects. Knowing each one should have the same result, which one is easier to use?
Grade Level: K-8 3 Locate the two pieces of the Sundial: the Sundial face plate, labeled Sundial and the gnomon labeled Sundial #2. The gnomon when placed on the dial face, casts a shadow called the style. Crease the scored lines on the Sundial #2 and place it in the center triangle as shown. 4 There are many different types of sundials. The markings on a sundial change depending on where you are on the Earth. If we were in on another continent, we would be using sundials that are completely different! The smaller piece is called the gnomon and when placed on the dial face, casts a shadow called the style. When the faceplate of the sundial points North, the sun moves the style over the numbers and we can tell the passage of time.
Grade Level: K-8 35 #Hold # some items close to the magnifier and see what they look like, you might be surprised at what you find! Find the piece labeled Pinhole Magnifier and look at an object across the room through the tiny hole in the center. What do you notice about the object when looking through the hole as compared to the naked eye? Does the object look larger when you are using the tool or without it? Notice there isn t a lens. Why do objects look larger? Objects look larger because the hole is small enough that it limits the amount of light rays that can pass through it, and so the image you see on the other side appears larger. 46 Punch out the object labeled Protractor and Inclinometer.
Grade Level: K-8 37 #How # many degrees is the corner of your Toolkit? A protractor is used to find angles. Line up the flat side of the D shape along an edge of the Young Inventor s Toolkit page with one corner of the angle in the center of the hole, and look for the point that the other edge meets on of the angles along the curved edge. So that s how to find angles with a protractor, but what s an Inclinometer? 48 We re going to take our Protractor tool, and make it even more fun. A protractor can be upgraded into a tool called an Inclinometer, which can be used to measure the height of very tall objects that might be hard to measure accurately. Find a piece of string and beads or small items that can be used for weights.
9 Fold the scored lines at the bottom so that they form a square tube. Tape the edges down so that they are flat on the blank side. Tie a piece of string through the hole in the center and around the square tube that you made, and tie a bead onto the other end. In order to demonstrate the use of the Inclinometer, take a volunteer up to the front of the class, and have them stand under something hanging high on the wall. Ask the volunteer to take three big steps forward. Measure the distance, and use it with the height chart on the back of the Toolkit Notebook to find how high the wall object is. 10 Need a break? Have the kids race to say Inclinometer three times fast. (Ink-lihnom-uh-ter) Look through the end of the square tube that sticks out from the protractor, with the rounded D -edge pointing towards the ground.
11 #Participants # should choose a partner for the rest of the Inclinometer lesson. Look at an object that is at eye level. If the inclinometer is level, the string should hang down across the protractor at about 90 degrees. 12 Ask what would happen if they looked down? What type of result would they get? How is the equation reinterpreted? Look through the tube at the top of a tall object. If you are inside a building, look at an object near the ceiling. When you look at something above your head, the inclinometer tilts. The string will hang over the protractor at an angle. Use your finger to hold the string onto the angle when you are looking at the object. What angle is the string covering?
13 Take a few steps toward the tall object and check the angle on your inclinometer again. What happens to the angle on your inclinometer? To be sure the measurement is accurate, have a partner watch you hold the string and tell you if the string moves accidentally. Practice pinching the string a few times, until you can do it without changing the angle. The string crossing the protractor marks the angle of the tilt of the inclinometer. 14 Have your partner choose a tall object or an object hanging on the wall for you to measure. Look at the top of the object through your inclinometer and determine what angle your inclinometer measures. Write down this angle on the Height Calculator page on the back cover of your Young Inventor s Notebook as the Object Angle. Both partners should help each other make independent entries into their Notebooks. #To # help with variety of things measured each partner should pick something different than what they chose to measure.
15 Using the ruler, measure the distance in feet or inches from where you are standing to the base of the object or to the space directly below the object (if it is hanging on a wall or from the ceiling). Write down this distance in the Inventor s Notebook as the Object Distance Have your partner measure distance from the floor to the eye level. Record the distance in the Inventor s Notebook. 16 You may want to use a tape measure to verify the height of objects. What is the name of the Inclinometer tool is when it doesn t have a weighted string attached? Next, use the Height Calculator to find the height of the object. Directions about its usage are printed on it. How tall is the object that you measured? Advanced students can try using the trig equation on the Height Calculator Sheet to see if they can find the correct height.
Topic: Identification of the Young Inventor s Toolkit Closure: In our kits, we ve identified several tools for measuring objects, distances, angles, and made our own magnifiers. These are all common tools used by scientists, engi neers, and inventors to create, explore and discover new things. Some tools in our kit look similar. Can you tell what the differences in their use are? With the use of these tools what could you design? Enrichment/Independent Practice: Is there a single item that you use everyday that you think can be made better? If so, what is it? What changes would you make to it? Why would you change it? Are their particular items or objects in your environment that you would like to know how big they are or what they are made of? How can you imagine being able to study them? Evaluation: Can each student identify the individual tools in the kit by its appropriate name? Can each student identify the proper use of each tool? Can each student apply them to make their own drawings and measurement? Did the students create each tool?