Hello and welcome back to the fort!
We're working on designing rafts for Juniper.
We're all going to the lake together, but Juniper is too small to swim and Squeaks can't find the boat he was going to lend her.
We talked about how to solve this problem, and we decided we could make her a raft.
Juniper, Squeaks and Sam each drew a picture or design for a raft that Juniper might be able to use on the lake.
But we still have to decide which design to use.
These look awesome.
And it's something engineers do too.
They look at their drawings to build a special model of their design called a prototype.
These rafts are our prototypes.
Then engineers test their prototypes to see how well their design solves the problem.
So let's test our prototypes out.
Remember, our raft needs to do three things.
It has to float.
It has to be the right size. and it has to keep me safe.
Here's Juniper's prototype.
Let's see how well her design does.
Juniper made a raft out of aluminum foil.
The raft floated when we put it in the water and the pipe cleaners we used for testing fit inside its shape, which kind of looks like a bowl.
But the raft wasn't very stable.
It tipped over when the water got rough.
And splashing in the water is part of the fun.
So it solved parts of the problem.
But I don't think I'd feel very safe in that raft.
Right.
Now, Squeaks.
He made his raft out of craft sticks, which we know float in water.
Its shape is different from the foil raft.
This raft is flat, and it has a handle in the middle for Juniper to hold onto.
It floats really well.
But that raft seems a little too small.
I don't want to get too wet, and I'm not sure how well I can hold on to that handle.
Now, Sam made his model from cardboard and corks.
It floats really well on the water at first.
It had a wide, flat shape and had plenty of room for Juniper.
But look what happens after a while.
The cardboard gets wet and starts to sag and fall apart.
And I want Juniper to be able to play all day with us.
Me too.
But how do we know which one Juniper should use?
None of our rafts were perfect.
They all had problems.
What would an engineer do?
Right, Squeaks?
An engineer wouldn't give up.
They would try again to find a solution to the problem.
Try again?
But we already made our designs.
True, but engineers rarely expect their designs to be just right the first time.
That's why we test and compare our ideas, so we can learn from them and make improvements.
It's not about getting it right the first time.
It's about learning and making our designs better.
What did we learn when we tested the rafts?
We can use that to make our next designs better.
Oh, Squeaks thinks we should use craft sticks instead of cardboard, because his raft didn't get soggy.
But we should use enough of them so that the raft has the same shape as mine, wide and flat.
That way there's plenty of room for juniper.
And we could still use the corks like I did in my design.
That way juniper will be nice and high above the water.
I agree.
We need to think about safety, too.
What if we added sides to the raft, like in my design?
That will help keep me from falling off the raft, even if the water gets rough.
See?
You're using everything we learned to improve our design.
Let's put all of these ideas together to make a new design.
Okay, everybody.
Operation Save Juniper's Vacation has reached its final phase.
Presenting our raft design.
Let's test it out.
Is everybody ready?
Yes!
Okay, does our raft float?
Yes!
Is it big enough for Juniper?
Yeah!
And will it keep juniper safe even if there end up being waves in the lake?
Yes!
Great work, team!
We've worked together, just like engineers do, to come up with a design that solves a problem.
We'd better get packing.
We have an exciting vacation coming up.
Oh, hey!
I'm glad everyone's here.
I had some fascinating new results I wanted to share with you in all my studies of buoyancy and fluid dynamics.
Oh, hi there, Dr. Turtleman.
We've been doing some studies of our own.
Hold on a second.
Is that Squeaks' boat?
The one Juniper was going to ride?
Oh, I guess it is.
I didn't think he'd miss it.
And it was just going to be for a couple of minutes, but then all the experiments were so fascinating that I got a bit carried away.
Ugh, you mean we did all that work for nothing?
But not for nothing, Sam.
I had fun thinking like an engineer.
Me three.
In fact, I might still use the design we made together.
That sounds great, Juniper, and thank you to everybody.
Thanks to you too for joining us on SciShow Kids.
If you want to have fun with me, Squeaks and all our friends, you can subscribe to SciShow Kids and we'll see you next time here at the fort.