Rube Goldberg Projects

     For the freshmen's last project of the year, they had to design and build Rube Goldberg machines. Named for the cartoonist who sketched them, a Rube Goldberg machine is a complex machine, made to complete a simple task. The freshmen were divided into groups within their classes, and each group had to build a Rube Goldberg that incorporated the six main simple machines in its design. The six main simple machines are an inclined plane, a wheel and axle, a wedge, a screw, a lever, and a pulley.The students learned about how these could be employed in the project, and then went to work in the shop.

One of Rube Goldberg's more famous designs, the Self-Operating Napkin.

     When building, the groups were all given $200 in ETA dollars, created for this very project, and had to budget their money. Materials, tools, and expert advice all had a price. If the students kept their money in order, on a charge sheet, they were given a bonus. However, if they were doing something improper in the workshop, they were fined. This gave the students a new perspective on building, and how to make use of all that they were given. 

     The groups within each class had to connect their projects together, so that momentum of an object (like a marble or toy car) would continue from group to group. This stressed the importance of communication, and how it is necessary in any kind of project. The classes then took their projects down to the cafeteria, so the classes could "race" their machines. Below are some of the final projects.

     The "race" in the cafeteria was a wonderful end to a wonderful year, and the teachers and teacher's assistants would like to applaud the hard work that the students put in this year. Have a great summer, and we'll see you in the fall!

Reverse Engineering Learning Fair

This was the third Reverse Engineering Learning Fair at Doherty, where the students take apart an object and construct it on Inventor, the most commonly used CAD program in industry. This project prepares the students to create an item in the world of engineering by having them do research in History and Biology, make accurate measurements of an item in Math, dissecting the principles of design in English, and creating a fully functioning 3D-Animated item in engineering. 
Mr. Garcia and Ms. Cochran introduced the evening, debuting a video of previous graduates of the ETA talking about their experiences and their life. After the film, Animah Mohammed spoke about the project itself.

After the film, Animah Mohammed spoke about the project itself, describing it from the point of view from a student. David Adarkwah then described what it was like to be in the ETA. 

Then, the parents and peers walked around and enjoyed the learning fair and the hard work the students put in.

At the end, the raffle was pulled to give a gift card to a parent and a student. Congrats to student Anthony Migridchian! Thanks to all who attended, even though the room was very hot, which we cannot control. Thanks to the freshmen for another great year! 

Learning Fair UPDATE

Today, Ms. Cochran is collecting the:

Learning Fair Inventor Files: 

Cover Page 

.IAM 

.IPN with BOM, and balloons

Then, next week, Monday and Tuesday is only working on display boards. Tuesday, they are due at the end of the period. After school on Wednesday is the learning fair.

Learning Fair UPDATE

The Human Connection Project is now due on May 5th. 

Human Connection Exemplars

Welcome back from vacation! As the freshmen resume working on the Learning Fair project, Mr. Simmarano wanted to show some Human Connection projects from previous years. These were all given high marks for creativity, organization, and content.

T-Shirt Contest Winners

The two winners of the ETA t-shirt contest are Sophia Puch and Adish Khatiwada. Congrats to every one who entered and thanks for participating! 

Learning Fair: Reverse Engineering Due Dates

4/3- Introduction of the Project
4/11- (Honors) English Technical Writing completed with rough draft attached
4/12 & 4/13- Human Connection Research in the Media Center
4/13- (College) English Technical Writing completed with rough draft attached
4/13- Gantt Chart Due for Engineering
4/13- Product approval sheet due
4/17 - 4/21- April Vacation
4/24 - 4/25- Math Lab
4/24 - 4/25- History Timeline Research in the Media Center
4/28- History research completed
5/5- The Human Connection for science completed
5/9- History Timeline completed
5/12- Inventor Files and Working Drawings printed
5/15- Surface Area and Volume completed
5/16- Poster Board completed
5/17- Learning Fair

IMPORTANT: ALL LATE WORK MUST BE BROUGHT PERSONALLY BY THE STUDENT TO THE TEACHER FROM WHICH IT WAS ASSIGNED BY MAY 16TH. OTHERWISE THE STUDENT WILL BE INELIGIBLE FOR THE LEARNING FAIR.