Jungle Adventure Obstacle Course - Day 3 - Week 3 (Mark Day School)
We have a pulley demonstration station here at Tinkering School, so we used our morning circle time to start a discussion about the uses of pulleys (as force re-direction or for mechanical advantage) and to invite tinkerers to experiment with the different pulley setups on the station. Since one of the build groups has a plan to incorporate an elevator platform, pulleys seemed a great thing to introduce at this stage.
Trying out our pulley station. With one pulley, force can be re-directed but with two pulleys, the force required is only half.
It would be hard to capture the full array of projects and collaborations that happened today. We have a large cave taking shape, and every time we looked someone else was taking a turn adding beams or brackets to stabilize it. The inside of the cave is going to have tons of pool noodles hanging down, and a team of tinkerers figured out how they should be hung from the roof of the cave. In another area of the jungle, a few students were fine-tuning a crocodile-style trap and others were finishing construction on a bridge that leads to a floating platform. The list goes on, and we all look forward to showing it off on Friday!
Testing the jump from the bridge. Testing is such a big part of what we do: brainstorm, sketch, build, test, revise.
Many hands helping to make the chair build go smoothly.
Now that the chair is built, we need a way for tinkerers to get from the ground to the top of the volcano. David rigged up a pulley system whereby someone sitting can pull themselves up several feet. One set of ropes requires lifting your own weight while another set (through double pulleys in the ceiling) allows you to pull yourself up by lifting only have your weight.
As collaborators, it’s wonderful to see an idea go from concept to prototype to final build.
And once again, it’s time to test. The trap works! Now to add some teeth to make it look more like a crocodile…
Making an angled cut on the chop saw allows for us to fit wood together tightly. The long piece on the left side of the saw was used as a cross brace to create a triangle to strengthen the volcano frame.
Our chop saw (aka compound miter saw) won’t cut angles over 60° so a jig saw becomes a handy tool for making larger angles.
Using a circular saw and guide to rip plywood.
Every cut starts with a “ready call” to make sure everyone is wearing eye and ear protection and watching attentively.
One of our tinkerers added tabbed windows (it is 2019, after all) and a motivation message to our whiteboard.
Click through the gallery below for more photos from our day. Visit our Flickr page for hundreds more from the week.
