Mousetrap Cars & Rat-Trap Boats, Grades 5-12 

Mousetrap car kits have been around for a long time, but constructing one of these kits requires little design and engineering skill, unless presented within the context of a real-world challenge.  The premise becomes a lot more fun once students are required to innovate those kits by designing a custom vehicle with the goal of producing the greatest speed or torque, allowing teachers to use this activity as a way to engage students in the practices of science and engineering within Engineering and Physical Science Core Disciplinary Ideas from Next Generation Science Standards, especially in middle and high school, where the activity is also being used in co-curricular clubs and team-based activities.  In this session, participants will gain the first-hand experiences and resources they need to successfully orchestrate this PBL with students, even when the stakes are raised, and the challenge moves from land to water, as they design and test mousetrap boats - or the larger rattrap boat, through an iterative process that students will never forget!

Trainers include Chris Anderson and Chris Better.