Contributed By: JASON Foundation for Education
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Design and build a canopy walkway. Scientists use canopy walkways to research the fragile rainforest canopy. The rainforest canopy is the uppermost layer of the rainforest, high in the treetops. Many insects, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, and plants live exclusively in the rainforest canopy.
Imagine you are a researcher in the rainforests of Peru. To reach your research site high in the treetops, you must build a walkway using only the materials you can carry into the rainforest (listed above).
Your Challenge:
1) Design and build a walkway that includes:
2) Use a pencil, paper, and ruler to sketch your walkway design in actual size. List the materials you plan to use. Describe where you plan to use them. This will help you build your walkway.
3) Once designed, build your walkway out of the craft/popsicle sticks, thread, paperclips, toothpicks, straws, chairs, glue, and tape. You may use the measuring tape (or meter/yard stick) and scissors as tools, but they cannot be part of the walkway. You do not need to use all your materials, but you can't use any more (Remember, you were unable to carry any more into the rainforest).
4) After you build your walkway, test it! Gently place the soup can on the center of the walkway. If the walkway supports the can's weight for 30 seconds, you've created a successful walkway. Now try to raise the can to the seat of the chair with your pulley.
A canopy walkway is a unique and tricky bridge to build. The walkway must be strong enough to hold the weight of researchers and their equipment. Heavy equipment, supports, and other building materials destroy the fragile ecosystem. Canopy walkways are often designed to support four or five times the weight they need to carry to ensure the safety of the people using them. Can your walkway support five soup cans? If not, what changes can you make so it will? What types of materials can you use?
Help your child think about the design of the walkway before s/he builds and tests it. List the characteristics of a safe and effective canopy walkway (e.g. it should be strong enough to support the weight of the researchers, it shouldn't destroy the canopy, etc.).
Comments
katejohn
london, United Kingdom
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April 10, 2015 - 3:08am
great work
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davidjoe
newyork, United States
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April 10, 2015 - 3:36am
informative
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charlesdevon
louisville, Kentucky, United States
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April 13, 2015 - 3:23am
Appreciate your effort
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