Adventure: Reigning in the Rain Forest
Quest: Food From Afar
Engineering Concept: Suspension Bridges
Challenge Level: Average
What is the problem?
Flynn, a budding engineer, is on a trip in Brazil with her parents. She has gotten lost in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest and is very hungry! She sees star fruit trees on the other side of a large ravine and needs to come up with a safe way to cross the ravine in order to eat them. In addition, the solution needs to be sustainable so that the native people in the area are able to cross the ravine once she has moved on.
How will the students help?
In the first segment, Flynn will ask the participants to creatively solve the problem by planning out how they will use the household materials required to build a solution. Students are encouraged to build a prototype in this segment.
In the second segment, students will research suspension bridges to understand how they relate to the problem Flynn is facing. They will be asked to answer open-ended research questions using research links provided by Growin’GEERS and additional research they do on their own.
In the third segment, students will rebuild their initial design based on what they learned in the second segment. They will be asked to create a new plan for how they will use their materials. Once their solution is complete, there will be a Test for Success to see if their solution passes.
What will the participants learn?
Suspension bridges
Tension and compression
How civil engineers apply those concepts
What civil engineers do
Brazilian culture
Brazilian facts
Why teamwork is important
Why it is okay to fail
What do I need to complete the quest?
Access to a computer to watch the videos and research the concepts
Ability to print the GEERling worksheets for students to plan their design and answer the research questions
Household materials needed to complete the hands-on component
Want to get started?
Get access to every Growin’GEERS quest and let the engineering adventure begin!