In Rowan and Willow Class, the children have been designing moving toys. The children learned all about cam mechanisms and then experimented with different types of cam to see what kind of movement they created. They then worked in pairs to investigate how they could make their structures sturdy. Next came the actual design process; deciding who the target audience was and what would make it appealing for them.
The excitement grew when the hacksaws, Stanley knives, glue guns and bench vices came out. Isabella felt ‘like a real builder’ and Will showed us how to use all the tools as it turns out he has lots of experience in DIY. Many of us found the glue guns a little challenging and there were yelps of ‘Yes!’ when the sawing of the dowel rods was successful!
Once the toys were finished, children evaluated their own toys and described some of the changes they had needed to make to ensure their toy worked. They also explained the difficulties they had encountered and what they would do differently next time. They particularly enjoyed trying out their friends’ toys and interviewing and evaluating peers’ work.
