Why the focus on improvising and recycling simple materials? Don’t you think students prefer sleek, modern tools straight out of the box?
Our experience is that students truly understand and ‘own’ the models and tools that they build themselves. And they learn valuable design and engineering skills in the process. Typically, TOPS labs are structured in a build-then-use sequence that begin with design and engineering followed by scientific inquiry. A few notable programs among many include: Triple Magnifier Kit #100: Students build cheap, yet powerful single lens microscopes, then explore the world of “small” with numerous starter activities. Weighing #05: Students build a gram balance, accurate to a tenth of a gram, that works in most TOPS experiments requiring mass measure. Then they develop a system of gram masses and do all kind of weighing experiments. Corn and Beans #39: Students construct journals, tools and planters in preparation for a 4-week investigation of monocots and dicots.
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