🎡 I10 Capstone: Fairground

Mechanics Lab is building a brand-new fairground. Your team will design a ride, test it, and pitch it to the park owners.

Inventors, Intermediate. Engineer Stamp: Master Inventor.

Lessons

1. The Ferris wheel: The first Ferris wheel carried 2,000 people at once! How does ours stay balanced?
2. The chair-swing carousel: Why do the chairs fly outwards when it spins?
3. Ride safety lab: Real rides are tested again and again before anyone gets on. What is “safe”?
4. The spirograph art machine: Every fair needs souvenirs. This machine draws a new pattern every time!
5. Design Day: Design a ride: The park owners want the most thrilling ride that is still 100 % safe.
6. Showcase: Opening Day at Mechanics Lab: Pitch your ride in 1 minute, then run the safety test in front of the judges.

Design challenge

Design and build a fairground ride that moves riders in an exciting way and passes a safety test.

Engineering ideas

• Turntables
• Bevel Gears: Around the Corner
• Centre of Gravity
• Worm Gear: The Lock

Standards: 3-5-ETS1-1, 3-5-ETS1-2, 3-5-ETS1-3