CHALLENGE: Construct a vehicle that is powered by a balloon.

Variables range from various sized water bottles used for the body to a wide assort of wheels, from DVD’s to bottle caps.

This truly represents the Engineering Design Process as discussed in class. Here, a student used available resources – a roll of scotch tape – as the body for his balloon powered car. It worked! The car traveled 182 centimeters.

The featured books include Rosie Revere, Engineer and The Inventor’s Secret.

In Rosie Revere, Engineer, young Rosie dreams of being an engineer and constructs unusual items from scrap. Afraid of failing, Rosie keeps her latest inventions under her bed so that no one will know what she dreams of. When an aunt shows up, Rosie soon learns that failure is something to celebrate instead of fearing.

The Inventor’s Secret was inspired by the true friendship between Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, including the pivotal moment when Ford learns of Edison’s secret to becoming such a successful inventor. Keep at it!

Famous Thomas Edison Quotes discussed in class:

“Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.”

“To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk.”