Lesson video

Hello, everyone, and welcome back to another lesson with me, Miss Sidenius.

Today we're going to be carrying on from lesson one by building a new machine and putting it to the test.

So we're going to start today's lesson by having a go at building our design from yesterday.

Then we're going to have a go at testing it and finally, we're going to see if we can explain how it works.

In this lesson, you're going to need three things.

If you had the same design as Miss Hughes in lesson one, you're going to need a doll, some parachute material and some string or tape.

If you chose to do your own design, you're going to have to look back at your plan and see what materials you're going to need.

So pause the video here, make sure you've got everything you need to build your design and come back when you're ready.

Star words, star words, star words.

My turn, engineer.

Engineer.

An engineer is somebody who is interested in how and why something works.

Engineers design, build and maintain new inventions to solve problems. That is their job.

Can you think of anything in your house that has been engineered or designed by an engineer? Have a look at the images on the screen to help you.

Tell your screen.

Well done.

I could hear lots of you pointed out that there was some food on the screen.

Food has been engineered so that it tastes better and it stays fresh for longer before it starts to go mouldy and rotten.

Homes have been engineered to keep us safe and warm.

And what else can you see on the screen? That's right.

Phones have been engineered to help us communicate with each other when we're out and about.

And fridges have been engineered to help keep our food cool, to help it last longer as well.

Now, in lesson one with Miss Hughes, we learnt about all the different things that engineers have to do as part of the process of inventing something new.

First, they have to think of a solution to a problem.

What was the problem in Miss Hughes' lesson? Yes, the doll couldn't get down from the stairs to the floor below.

There weren't any stairs.

So we had to find another way to help the doll get down.

Next, an engineer will design a solution to a problem.

So Miss Hughes designed a solution that she was going to create a hot air balloon for her doll to get down from one floor to the other.

Then an engineer will build that design.

What do they need to do after that? They need to test it to see if it works.

That's right.

Now, if there's something wrong with the design and it doesn't work every well, then the engineer will improve it.

So they'll make it better.

They'll go back, they'll change their design, they'll rebuild it and they'll make something better.

And finally, when they've got their finished invention, an engineer will maintain it to make sure that it doesn't break down and it carries on working for a really long time.

So just like we mentioned earlier, can you remember what the problem was in Miss Hughes' lesson? Tell your screen.

That's right.

Miss Hughes had the problem that her doll was stuck right at the top of the building and she couldn't get down safely.

There were no stairs.

So Miss Hughes designed a hot air balloon to help her doll get down from one floor to the ground floor.

So Miss Hughes already got us started by identifying a problem and designing something to fix the problem.

It's our turn to now build that invention and see if it works.

So you might have done the same problem as Miss Hughes.

You might have designed a hot air balloon or a parachute just like Miss Hughes or you might have found another problem that you're trying to fix.

Make sure you look back at your plan.

And we're going to have a go at building our design now.

So can you remember, in Miss Hughes' lesson, her design had a tissue that was going to be like the balloon of the hot air balloon.

Then she had a string.

She had string attaching the tissue to a box that her doll was going to sit in.

So let's see if we can build it.

So I've got my equipment.

I've got a tissue, I've got some string.

And the first thing I'm going to do is tie my string around each corner of the tissue, just like it said in the design.

That's one.

I'm going to go round and make sure every corner has a piece of string attached to it so that it can help the box float down the stairs.

There we go.

Two more to go.

Another one.

It can be a little bit fiddly to tie knots.

So if you need some help, you can always ask an adult to help you.

Loop it underneath.

And pull it tight.

If you watch very carefully, you can see how I tie a knot in my tissue here.

So loop it round the tissue to make a circle shape and then pass the string under the circle and back through.

There you go, pull it tight.

So I've got all four of my bits of string attached to my tissue.

Pause the video here, do step one of your design and come back when you're ready.

Excellent, it's now time to attach our box.

Now, I didn't have a box but I found a toilet roll that I thought I could use.

So I'm going to arrange my string around the toilet roll.

Like that.

There we go and I'm going to fasten it with some tape to make sure that it stays put.

So the tape's just going to go all the way round and make sure that all the string is attached.

And there we go.

It's already starting to look a bit like a hot air balloon, isn't it? Pause the video here, finish step two of your preparations for building your design and come back when you're ready.

Well done, everyone.

I hope you're finished just like I am too.

If you haven't finished, you can always carry on building your design and press play when you're finished.

As you can see, mine's ready to go.

I've got my doll.

My doll is sitting in the toilet roll ready to test my design.

Now, you're going to have to watch very carefully here because it goes very quickly, okay? It's time to test.

Oh dear, did you see that? That fell down very quickly, didn't it? And it looked like a bit of a bumpy landing.

Shall we watch it again? Watch very carefully.

Oh dear, no, I think that would really hurt my doll if she went down in the parachute from one step to another in that design.

No, I don't think that's going to work.

Pause the vide here, test your design and come back when you're finished.

So we decided that that was not very safe.

The hot air balloon fell really, really fast and the poor doll had a very bumpy landing on the bottom of the ground.

I think I need to improve my design so that my doll can float down more slowly and carefully and will safely land on the ground.

So I had a think about how I could do that.

And I thought I think the toilet roll is too heavy.

It's weighing down the doll and it's making the hot air balloon fall down too quickly.

So I'm going to get rid of the toilet roll.

I don't think I'm going to use a box.

And I don't know if the tissue is the best material to use for a hot air balloon.

And I thought I know what I've seen floating around in the wind before.

Plastic bags.

And they float around quite slowly in the wind.

So I'm going to change my material to a plastic bag.

Let's see how I make my improvements.

So I've got a plastic bag here.

And I'm just going to tie my string around the handles of the bag.

Like that.

And I'm going to do the same thing on the other side.

Just like that.

Now, I'm going to tie the string to my doll so that it's like he or she is jumping from a parachute.

Pause the video here, make any improvements to your design if you need to and come back when you're ready.

So let's have a go at putting our new and improved design to the test.

Again, you need to watch really carefully because it's going to go quickly.

Ready? Wow, I think that was so much better than last time.

The doll landed really safely and softly on the ground and it wasn't blown away in the wind.

I think my design has improved a lot.

Pause the video here, put your second design to the test, see if you've improved it and come back when you're ready.

Well done, everyone.

I hope you enjoyed testing your designs.

And I hope you're proud of the improvements that you made, even if you didn't have to make any improvements.

It's really important that once you have something that works, a new invention, an engineer must always maintain it.

That means we can't let it break now that we've got it working.

So my doll has a parachute now that works.

But it's not going to work if it gets holes in it or if one of the strings comes off.

What can I do to maintain my design? To make sure that it still works? Tell your screen.

That's right, I can really try to look after my parachute.

I can make sure, before I use it, that I check to see if there are any holes in the plastic bag and to see that all the strings are attached safely to my doll and the bag.

What are you going to do to maintain your design? Tell your screen.

Well done, those are some really good ideas, everyone.

Now let's see if we can have a go at explaining how our inventions work.

So having a think about it, I made a parachute with a plastic bag but how does it work? Why does it float down gently? I think it might be because the air goes into the bag and it puts pressure on the bag and helps it to fall down more slowly.

It's like the bag is having to fall against the wind that's coming up underneath it.

So the bag fills up with air and helps the doll to float down safely.

How does your invention work? See if you can have a go at explaining it to somebody in your household, a teddy or a toy.

Well done, everyone.

I hope you really enjoyed becoming some real-life engineers today and designing, building, improving and testing your own designs.

Make sure that you share it with somebody in your household, a teddy or a toy.

And if you'd like to, you can ask your parent or carer to share your work on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, tagging @OakNational and the hashtag #LearnwithOak.

See you next time.