Google Project Proposal

Abby Johnson, Emily Freeman, Rebecca Hastings

The Boat Launcher
Needs and Opportunities
As a group, we noticed the need for a large scale project to bring the students and
teachers of Trace Crossings together. After talking to Ms. Stone and Ms. Joyner, this project was
chosen because of its lasting practicality and its ability to meet our goal. We saw this project as
something classes could participate in together from beginning to end. Students would build the
boats together then compete against others in the school, forming a healthy sense of comradery
throughout Trace Crossings. Trace Crossings is a school that has adopted the new STEAM
movement into their curriculum. STEAM education is meant to connect the arts and the sciences
together to impact learning (Robelen E.W.). Because America is moving towards innovation in
order to make progress and success, something must change in our education of the young
citizens of our society. When Art and Design and merged with Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Math (STEM), our economy begins to turn just like it changed in the last
century with science and technology (Schaaf L. J.).
Audience
The audience for this project is the teachers and students of Trace Crossings. Everyone
had access to the boat launcher and several teachers decided to use it in their own instruction.
Students will be able to see different aspects of a boats construction and how the final product is
impacted. We measured the success of the boat launcher itself in two ways: how fast the boat
was (for older grades) and whether or not it was able to float (for younger grades). The main
measure of success for our project as a whole in uniting the school through STEAM was the
level of participation and enthusiasm in students. For participation, we wanted to see if this
would be something all teachers would want to participate in or not. Additionally, as students
came to build and launch their boats, we observed behaviors and asked questions, gathering
information on how students felt participating in an activity for the whole school to measure
enthusiasm levels. The three of us worked on this project in collaboration with Ms. Stone and
Ms. Joyner.
Timeline
From our initial meeting with Ms. Joyner and Ms. Stone, we had approximately 1 month
to plan and execute this project. We began by finding the standards that correspond with each
aspect of the STEAM model. We then started to gather milk cartons and discuss the logistics of
actually building a boat ramp. After gaining the backing of Home Depot, we began construction
on the launcher, finishing the pieces needed to prepare for Maker Week.
Product

Our product is a compilation of videos and pictures that showcase the boat launcher and the
community that it built. We have images and graphs that demonstrate the investment of students
and teachers in our project. Students and classes came closer together to build their boats and
send them flying down our ramp.
Equipment
We had to gather milk cartons, boat supplies, a water pump, baby pool, plastic tubing,
and a step ladder. The milk cartons were gathered from the Trace cafeteria with the help and
support of Ms. Ida. The water pump and plastic tubing came donated from Home Depot and the
rest was already owned by Ms. Joyner.
Conclusion
We are excited about this project because we truly believe it united the teachers and
students at Trace to support a common goal through STEAM. It was a great way to get everyone
together and making something fun yet informational. This project was easy to adapt for
different grade levels and would be easy to take straight into the classroom curriculum for each
grade.

Time Sheet
Date

Time

Hours

Productivity

February 3, 2016

8:30-9:00

.5

Initial Preparation

February 4, 2016

11:30-12:00

.5

Meeting with Mrs. Stone

and Mrs. Joyner

February 10, 2016

8:30-9:45

1.25

Finding standards,
discuss milk cartons,
discuss logistics

February 10, 2016

12:30-1:00

.5

Meeting with Mrs. Stone

and Mrs. Joyner

February 15, 2016

1:00-1:30

.5

Writing Home Depot

Proposal Letter

February 17, 2016

8:00-9:30

1.5

Home Depot Run

February 19, 2016

3:30-5:30

Collection and cleaning

of milk cartons

February 24, 2016

8:30-10:00

1.5

Finding Standards and

talking logistics

February 25, 2016

12:30-4:30

Cleaning milk cartons

and making signs

February 27, 2016

1:00-5:00

Cutting milk cartons

March 1, 2016

12:00-3:00

Finishing
touches/creating graph

March 3, 2016

8:00-12:00

The actual boat launch

Total Hours:
23.25

Google 20% Reflection

For our Google 20% project, we created a Boat Launcher for Trace Crossings Elementary
Schools Maker Week. Our goal for this project was to unite Trace Crossings in a STEAM
initiative. Because of this, we wanted to include as many elements of STEAM into this one
project as possible. We believed that this would engage students in a cross-curricular, hands-on
learning experience. We wanted to design an activity that students across all grade levels could
participate in and gain knowledge from.
The boat launching activity was designed to incorporate many aspects of STEAM. The
week before Maker Week, the students used materials provided to design and create a boat. For
the older grades, the students were presented with a challenge to create a boat that would travel
as fast as possible down a ramp and make it to the edge of the pool without sinking. This
challenge was simplified for the younger students who wanted their boats to float and make it to
the edge of the pool. The materials provided for the students were all recycled materials. The
base of the boats were milk cartons, primarily coming from the breakfasts and lunches the
students had. This design challenge incorporated science, engineering, and art, which were
aligned to grade level standards.
During Maker Week, the students completed their boats and were able to launch them.
Each time the students boats were launched they were timed. If they did not make it down the
ramp, the students went through a scientific process of asking why and how they could improve
their boat before retesting. Math was incorporated to this project when the students recorded
their data on one of the graphs.
Through this project, we saw students were truly engaged and enjoyed testing their boats.
It was extremely successful. We would love to incorporate something like this into our

classroom or school one day. From this experience, we realized how practical it could be to
incorporate something like this into teaching. This project was created with little cost. Much of
the material was recycled and donated. It provided students with a meaningful learning
experience that extended beyond one subject. If we were to do this project again, we think it
would be great to provide teachers with extension activities for the classroom. This way, it
applies to work done in the classroom, and meaningful discussion could occur.
Because of the nature of the project, it was hard to collect data from every student. To
measure our success of this project, we looked at student participation and engagement. Each
class participated in this project, which was a huge success. The students were all very excited to
launch their boats to test their results. We also asked students what they took away from this
experience. One student said, I really like how we got to build our boat however we wanted.
And we could make changes if it didnt work. Another student said, I wish we could do this
more! Finally, another one said, This doesnt feel like school or learning science. I really like
it! Overall, we saw students unite as a school and gain a deeper love for the STEAM initiative.

Google Presentation and Pictures