Transport
Explore resource which look at various forms of transport, focussing on design, materials they are made from and how they move. Design and make cars, bikes, gliders, boats and rockets, whilst linking to science, literacy and D&T.
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- Teacher guidance
- Video
- Activity sheet
- External link
Teacher guidance
Brompton Bicycle: Key Stage 1 resources
Aimed at children ages 5-7, contains five design and technology projects that focus on bicycles. Children evaluate bicycle designs, then design and make: bicycle parts and accessories for characters from a book, teddy or for a particular purpose.
High Flyers: Building a Glider with Everyday Materials
Investigate materials and then design, make and test gliders in this activity linked to forces and flight.
Video
Rocket Images and Video
NASA's Space Shuttle may be a well-known launch vehicle, but the majority of launches still take place using rockets. These regularly carry satellites into orbit. These materials show images of rockets, such as the Saturn V which powered the Apollo missions and current Delta and Atlas rockets. There is also a video showing the launch of a Delta rocket.
Activity sheet
How Fast Should Your Buggy Be?
Children design and make a controllable, battery-powered toy vehicle using card, wood, found materials, mechanical and electrical components. The toy created can be based on an actual vehicle, on a vehicle from a book or film, or it can be a fantasy vehicle developed from the pupil's imagination.
How Will Your Roly Poly Move?
Explore,design and make moving toys in this project which combines D& T and science. Working in pairs children could ask predict how different toys will move and then test this out. Children could investigate which type of roly poly travels the fastest using a ramp or whether roly polys with bigger wheels travel further than those with smaller wheels.
Brompton Bicycle: Key Stage 2 Resources
Aimed at children aged 7-11 these five design and technology projects focus on bicycles. Providing many cross curricular links and opportunities to develop thinking skills, children are asked to: consider the needs of the rider, carry out research, communicate ideas, solve problems, work collaboratively and evaluate designs in light of the design brief.
Design a boat
Children use a variety of materials to construct a boat that will float. They then investigate what size of load their boats might be able to carry, potentially testing their creations to destruction, as they risk them sinking to the bottom of a water tank! This is part of a larger collection of resources linked to to the Polar Explorer Programme, the educational programme linked to the RRS Sir David Attenborough research vessel.
External link
Floating boat challenge
In this floating boat challenge, children are to build a boat that can float and support 25 pennies for at least 10 seconds —without leaking, sinking, or tipping over. Each team has access to limited materials, e.g. some plastic wrap, plastic straws, paper cups, masking tape and 25 pennies. They then test their boats in a large water tank. The format of this resource may look quite wordy, but there are lots of photos showing possible boat designs using a variety of materials. Hopefully your class will come up with a lot more of their own creations.
