Ötzi the Iceman’s Technology

We took a quick aside in our typical 5th grade Technology curriculum to make connections to some ancient technologies. Students are reading Frozen Man by David Getz as an introduction to investigating history. The book covers the discovery of Ötzi the Iceman in the Austrian Alps, a mummified Neolithic man whose life came to sudden end and  was preserved along with much of his clothing and tools intact.

It’s important to me that students think about technology as more than just modern high-tech gadgets, but instead as tools that evolve throughout time. My goal is to let them experience ancient tools hands-on just like they use modern tools everyday.

To start the lesson, I handed each student a stone tool such as a hand-axe, Clovis point, or stone awl without explaining it’s name or function. Then we launched a NOVA interactive called Stone Age Toolkit from PBS on the projector. As we went through the interactive quiz, students worked together to identify their particular stone tool and deduce it’s function. Then we watched a brief video clip demonstrating how stone tools were made from NOVA scienceNOW titled Stone Age Language Mystery. The section of the video that we watched (20:20 – 24:26) showed anthropologists showcasing flint-knapping skills to craft stone tools. At that point I always like to discuss how complicated stone toolmaking really is with the students. We finished lesson with an “artifact petting zoo” with some replicas of tools that Ötzi was found with including a dagger, arrow with feather fletching and the famous copper axe head. The South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology’s site dedicated to Ötzi is a terrific resource to share with students as well. It has terrific documentation of the story of the ice mummy and the artifacts that he was found with.

Intro to Structures

This presentation kicks off our 5th grade unit on Structural Engineering and Architecture. I feel that structures are some of our most important technologies, and students will get to learn how and why they are designed and built that way they are by making models common structures like domes, bridges and superstructures. I remixed the presentation from one made by the talented folks over at Project H Design who had their version up on slideshare.com .

LED Greeting Cards Pt. 3 (Complete Circuits)

3rd graders finished their LED greeting cards with NYC themed cover art. Before we added power to our cards we watched a video on circuits from BrainPop. Then we clipped in our coin cell batteries and set the cards aglow! This project was inspired by the amazing work of Jie Qi from the High-Low Tech Group at the MIT Media Lab. Check the link for some card templates.

LED Greeting Cards Pt. 2 (Soldering)

3rd graders soldered LEDs to the copper tape on their paper circuit greeting cards this week. We talked about how components like LEDs are connected in circuits with solder inside their electronic devices. We also stressed safety, using safety glasses and steady assistance of teachers with the hot soldering irons. This project was inspired by the amazing work of Jie Qi from the High-Low Tech Group at the MIT Media Lab. Check the link for some card templates.