Engineering

5th Graders are building a model arm to understand how engineers use prototypes in the design process.

6th Grade is creating models to visualize the movement of the ocean floor and will analyze how their models compare to actual sea-floor spreading.

7th Grade is designing and building simple microscopes and will calculate magnification. They will observe diffusion and osmosis processes.

8th Graders will utilize their understanding of acceleration, friction, and gravity to design and build protectors to keep an egg from cracking when dropping it 5.2 meters (17 feet). They have a “budget” and can only use specific materials.

Port of Los Angeles Engineers Facilitate a Workshop at Holy Trinity School

A group of engineers from the Port of Los Angeles came to our fourth and fifth-grade classrooms. They taught us about being engineers and we watched videos and answered questions about engineering at the eighty-eight port which is the size of eighty-eight Disneylands. Then we got supplies like straws, lifesavers, and paper to build our own puff car in fifteen minutes. When we finished the process of trial and error, we raced our cars. A member from each team propelled the cars by blowing on them. It was very exciting to watch the cars fly across the cement within taped lanes. Some cars moved fast and some rolled slowly, while some cars didn’t move at all. In the end, we all had an exciting time and learned some awesome things about engineering!

Can Your Structure Survive an Earthquake?

In 6th grade created structures to try to overcome earthquakes. They tested their structures by rocking them with the shaking table!