What you will need
- Building materials – bricks, blocks, junk modelling or other construction materials you have available in your setting
- Selection of toy animals
- Water tray- for testing waterproof models
- Hair dryer, hand dryer or fan for testing whether models stand up to wind
- Pulleys, wheels, paper plates and fasteners or contraction materials with other moving parts
- Provocation sheets: animals on the island, waterproof island, island that stands up to wind, island with moving parts
- The civil engineer poster
Duration
- 10 to 15 minutes
Challenge children to design and build a model to meet specifications
Early Learning Goal links
- Mathematics ELG: Numerical Patterns
- Understanding the World ELG: Past and Present
- Understanding the World ELG: People, Culture and Communities
- Understanding the World ELG: The Natural World
- Expressive Arts and Design ELG: Creating with Materials
Characteristics of effective learning
Our EYFS units provide enabling environments with teaching and support from adults. Reflecting on the characteristics of effective teaching and learning, children will have opportunity to learn and develop by:
• playing and exploring – children investigate and experience things, and ‘have a go’
• active learning – children concentrate and keep on trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements
• creating and thinking critically – children have and develop their own ideas, make links between ideas, and develop strategies for doing things
Taken from Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.
© Crown copyright 2023 licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0.
STEM vocabulary to introduce
Build, create, fasten, balance, heavy, light, tall, short, high, wide, narrow, structure, waterproof, windproof, strong, weak, wet, dry, big, small, move, turn, spin, up, down, open, close, design, test, improve
What to do – setting the challenge
Tell the children that they are going to be creative like civil engineers and build an Elephant Island that solves a problem. They will need to be resilient as it might not work the first time. You could use these provocations:
Can you build an Elephant Island that:
You could make your own examples of Elephant Islands that meet these specifications. You may need to discuss, clarify and check the children understand what your specifications mean. You might want to introduce one specification per session, day or week.
Making an island for a specified number of animals
Questions to extend learning
- How big will your island need to be to fit all of those animals on?
- Where will they all fit?
- Will you make special spaces for each animal?
- How will you make sure they don’t fall off?
- How will you make sure that your island is strong enough to hold them all?
Making a waterproof island
Questions to extend learning
- What does waterproof mean?
- How could you test if something is waterproof?
- Can you think of any clothes that are waterproof?
- What would happen to this cardboard box if you put it in the water?
- How about this plastic brick?
- Which materials are waterproof?
- How will you use your materials to build your island?
- How will you make sure it is waterproof?
Making an island that stands up to the wind
Questions to extend learning
- What do you think windproof means?
- How can we test if something is windproof?
- Which of the Three Little Pig’s houses was windproof
- Why do you think it was windproof?
- Which of our construction materials are strong enough to stand up to the wind?
- How will you make sure your island is windproof?
Making an island with moving parts
Questions to extend learning
- Which part of your model is going to move?
- How could you get this wheel to turn?
- How could you get this part to spin?
- How could you make this door open and close?
- How could you make this container move up and down?
You may have some interesting moving parts in your construction sets that you could use here!
Step 2 – creating the models
Encourage the children to create their island independently using the construction materials and fastenings of their choice. You could ask the children to draw a plan of their island instead of making it.
While they are building, you may need to refer them back to the specifications. You could ask:
- Is this material waterproof? How do you know?
- Is this material strong? Have you tried to blow on it?
- Is this island big enough for all of these animals? Where will they all fit?
- Does this part move? What could you do to make it spin/move up and down/open or close?
Step 3 – testing the models
When the children have finished their models, you could ask them to test the models to see if they met the specifications. You could test if the models are waterproof by poring water over them in the water tray. You could test the windproof models by blowing them with a hairdryer. You could ask:
- Is your model windproof/waterproof?
- How do you know?
- Can your model move? How did you do that?
- Did all of the animals it on your island?
- Did your model do what it was supposed to?
- Can you fix it?
- What else could you put on your model next time?
- Was there anything difficult/hard to build or draw?
- Why do you think that was difficult?
The science in this activity
We have put together some useful information to accompany this activity. Don’t worry, this is for your information only and to help you answer any questions children may have. We don’t expect you to explain this to the children in your setting!
What does waterproof mean?
Water cannot pass through an object or material that is waterproof. Waterproof, water repellant and water resistant materials are different. Waterproof materials will stop water passing through them no matter how long they are in the water. Examples include: latex, plastic, rubber, silicone and wax.
Water repellant surfaces are not easily penetrated by water and the water droplets form a sphere shape on the surface. An examples is the teflon coating on a frying pan.
Water resistant materials will only offer a limited amount of protection. Examples are shower-proof coats which will keep you dry for a while, but the rain will soak through eventually.
How do structures withstand the wind?
When the wind blows it ‘pushes’ against the structure and applies a force. If the force is too big, the structure may be damaged or fall down.
When civil engineers are designing wind-resistant structures, they need to think about:
- creating aerodynamic shapes (e.g. curved, sloped, cylindrical) – this helps the air to move easily over or around the shape and reduces the forces on the structure
- the flexibility of the structure – this helps the structure to move slightly with the wind and reduces the forces.
- the strength of the materials used and the strength of the foundations – these help to make sure that the force of the wind doesn’t move the structure too much.
