Creative Engineering Design
Project description
This project was by far the most "open-to-interpretation" project if you are referring to guidelines. We had to find a solution to any problem in the world. For this project we had to create a group who all wanted to solve a similar problem, then do some research, and finally come up with a solution. People had many different interpretations of this project, so there were several very different final solutions.
Project Reflection
My group decided to research the topic "Animal Abuse in Zoos." After lots of research we came to the conclusion that elephants, giraffes, and polar bears were in the worse conditions in zoos, so we decided to mainly focus on those three animals. We wanted to make our design efficient as well as affordable. As a group we decided to keep the zoo's size the same (acre wise), and just take the outside exhibits to make our "round-about" idea. All three of the animals we chose to focus on needed more space to walk around, so we thought "Why not make their exhibit in the form of a circle?" We dew out our design and then presented it to the class. I thought that my group work very well together. During this project I learned a lot. I learned how to think "outside of the box" and how to find reliable websites. I also continued to practice my skills with working in a group. I wish that we had more time to enhance our design. My group may have been able to make a more elaborate electronic version and had time to make new exhibits for other animals as well. Even though we lost 2 days at the end of the project due to the storm, I felt that my group had managed the time that we were given wisely, and therefore weren't too impacted by the storm.
evidence of project
Concepts
For this project we mainly used the "Engineering Design Cycle." The Engineering Design Cycle contains 9 steps.
The 9 steps are:
111. 1. Identify the need: Animals in zoos are being abused.
2. Research the problem: Animals in zoos don't have enough room in their exhibits.
3. Develop possible solutions: Create more space in zoos. Make their exhibits into a circular space, so they are essentially forced to get enough exercise, while not getting bored of the same view/environment of their current tiny exhibit that they are given.
4. Select the most promising solution: Make their exhibit circular.
5. Construct a prototype: We drew out our design on a large piece of poster paper.
6. Test and evaluate the prototype: We went back to our research to determine the best size for each exhibit space.
7. Communicate the design: We presented our design to our class.
8. Redesign: We didn't have enough time to get to this step, but we would have taken the feedback that we were given to improve our design.
9. Repeat
The 9 steps are:
111. 1. Identify the need: Animals in zoos are being abused.
2. Research the problem: Animals in zoos don't have enough room in their exhibits.
3. Develop possible solutions: Create more space in zoos. Make their exhibits into a circular space, so they are essentially forced to get enough exercise, while not getting bored of the same view/environment of their current tiny exhibit that they are given.
4. Select the most promising solution: Make their exhibit circular.
5. Construct a prototype: We drew out our design on a large piece of poster paper.
6. Test and evaluate the prototype: We went back to our research to determine the best size for each exhibit space.
7. Communicate the design: We presented our design to our class.
8. Redesign: We didn't have enough time to get to this step, but we would have taken the feedback that we were given to improve our design.
9. Repeat