Ready, Set, Escape

In this month's activity, Ready, Set, Escape, students use the engineering design process to design a timer that will measure exactly three minutes. Engineers are constantly trying to make better and more accurate timing devices. This activity focuses on designing an accurate, yet simple device with limited supplies. Students are given the following instructions:

You have been taken prisoner in a foreign country. You are going to try to escape from the prison. In order to escape, you must time the movements of the guards exactly! You have to design a method of timing 3 minutes (the time it takes the guards to change posts) so you can make your break. You will be able to use a timing device to check the accuracy of the device. No clock/watch may be used in the device itself. You will be graded on how close you come to the 3 minutes. Good Luck!

Students are then provided with materials and time to work in groups using the engineering design process to solve the problem.

The Engineering Pathway Portal to the National Science Digital Library (NSDL) brings together quality engineering education materials for from all over the internet allowing teachers to search all of these documents in a single location. Each month during the year in the Pre-Engineering Times, the Engineering Pathway highlights one or more engineering activities available on the collection related to the month's theme. This month's activity is from the TeachEngineering Digital Library, which is a part of the Engineering Pathway.