ES L7: Sketch and Prototype

Lesson 7: Sketch & Prototype

Let's do this!

After brainstorming and thinking about solutions to your problem, you need to make your solution in order to test it and get feedback on how well it works.

What is Sketching and Prototyping?

TASK 1: Papa's Mechanical Fish

Meet Lodner Phillips (AKA Papa). He lived near Lake Michigan in 1851 and spent MANY years building a machine that would take he and has family underwater. While this story is fictional, the author, Candace Fleming, based the details in her book on research she did on this eccentric inventor.

This tale is not just about a submarine. It’s about perseverance, the creative impulse and the unwavering faith of a loving family. ~ Candace Fleming

User: Papa's family

Need: A way to see the fish underwater

Problem statement: Papa needed a way take his whole family underwater to view the fish.

Whitefish#1

Did Papa's first submarine called Whitefish 1 work? Not exactly.

It almost worked!

It almost worked!

Papa's first attempt at a submarine had some new ideas, such as:

A way to breathe underwater. How did he manage this?
A way to steer the submarine - how did he do this?
What went wrong with his first test with his machine?

Whitefish #2

Did Papa's 2nd machine work? Not really. What happened?

Whitefish 2 included improvements based on what failed in the first machine:

Big enough for 2 people
Wooden fin on top
Propeller in back to move machine
Bike pedals to power it
What went wrong with machine #2?

Whitefish #4

Whitefish 3 included many details Lodner learned in his previous test:

Big enough for 3 people
A plunger to make it go up and down
A steering wheel to make it turn left or right
Levers instead of pedals
Covered in waterproof copper

Whitefish #3

It almost worked!

It WORKED!

Heading 5

Did Papa's 3rd machine work? It is getting closer to what he needs it do be, but he needs to make another sub.

Did Papa's 4th machine work?

Whitefish 4 worked! It had:

Room for 7 people
Air-cooling system
Air-compression system
Air-purifying system
Steam boiler for engine
Headlights
Carpet & comfortable chairs
Porthole windows

Papa worked very hard on each of his machines. Each Whitefish is called a PROTOTYPE. He learned something each time his prototype failed. Consider the problems he had with each Whitefish and how he changed his machine until he came up with the BEST solution. When you consider many ideas, test them, redesign the idea, it is called ITERATION. Think about the iteration Papa did while making a submarine that could take his whole family into Lake Michigan to watch the fish in this chart. That's a LOT of thinking, but it paid off in the end.

Task 2: What is a SKETCH & PROTOTYPE?

Now it is your turn to try to design a solution for a user. But where to start?

Once you use you understand the user's problem you can SKETCH the solutions you are considering.

What is a SKETCH?

A sketch shows what your brain is thinking. A sketch can be . . .

Messy
Parts labeled (misspelled words are okay!)
Shows other people in the group what your solution might look like

Robot designed to help clean room

Rubber Band Car with parts labeled

Once you have considered many ideas for your solution, you can make your first PROTOTYPE.

What is a PROTOTYPE?

PLAY VIDEO HERE: https://pbskids.org/designsquad/video/garbage-sorter-squirrel-shoes/

Why did the students make 2 or 3 different prototypes as they worked on their solution?
What did they learn after each prototype? Prototypes should look like your sketch.

Prototypes:

Help you explain your idea to others
Test your idea to see if it works
Get feedback from your user - What do they like? What do they not like?
Allows ITERATION: Gives you the opportunity to make your prototype better with each one you make!
It is okay if the first ones are messy. Remember to Fail Fast in order to get to your final prototype.
Your final prototype should be neat, but it does not have to actually work. It is important that it gives the user an idea of how it would work.

Task 3: Time to Practice

Design Thinking Challenge

Find your "elbow partner" who is the USER.
Have him or her select one item from the chart below that he or she NEEDS or WANTS
Interview your USER about what they would really like to have in their new device.
SKETCH your idea
Use the materials provided to you from your teacher and create a PROTOTYPE that matches your sketch.
Ask your USER what he or she thinks about your invention. What does she like? What does she not like? How could you make it better?

Click to download or enlarge

Your turn!

Lesson 7: Sketch & Prototype

Let's do this!

What is Sketching and Prototyping?

Meet Lodner Phillips (AKA Papa). He lived near Lake Michigan in 1851 and spent MANY years building a machine that would take he and has family underwater. While this story is fictional, the author, Candace Fleming, based the details in her book on research she did on this eccentric inventor.

​

This tale is not just about a submarine. It’s about perseverance, the creative impulse and the unwavering faith of a loving family. ~ Candace Fleming

User: Papa's family

Need: A way to see the fish underwater

Problem statement: Papa needed a way take his whole family underwater to view the fish.

Whitefish#1

Did Papa's first submarine called Whitefish 1 work? Not exactly.

It almost worked!

It almost worked!

Papa's first attempt at a submarine had some new ideas, such as:

A way to breathe underwater. How did he manage this?

A way to steer the submarine - how did he do this?

What went wrong with his first test with his machine?

Whitefish #2

Did Papa's 2nd machine work? Not really. What happened?

Whitefish 2 included improvements based on what failed in the first machine:

Big enough for 2 people

Wooden fin on top

Propeller in back to move machine

Bike pedals to power it

What went wrong with machine #2?

Whitefish #4

Whitefish 3 included many details Lodner learned in his previous test:

Big enough for 3 people

A plunger to make it go up and down

A steering wheel to make it turn left or right

Levers instead of pedals

Covered in waterproof copper

Whitefish #3

It almost worked!

It almost worked!

It WORKED!

Heading 5

Did Papa's 3rd machine work? It is getting closer to what he needs it do be, but he needs to make another sub.

Did Papa's 4th machine work?

Whitefish 4 worked! It had:

Room for 7 people

Air-cooling system

Air-compression system

Air-purifying system

Steam boiler for engine

Headlights

Carpet & comfortable chairs

Porthole windows

​

Now it is your turn to try to design a solution for a user. But where to start?

​

Once you use you understand the user's problem you can SKETCH the solutions you are considering.

What is a SKETCH?

A sketch shows what your brain is thinking. A sketch can be . . .

​

Messy

Parts labeled (misspelled words are okay!)

Shows other people in the group what your solution might look like

Robot designed to help clean room

Rubber Band Car with parts labeled

Once you have considered many ideas for your solution, you can make your first PROTOTYPE.

What is a PROTOTYPE?

PLAY VIDEO HERE: https://pbskids.org/designsquad/video/garbage-sorter-squirrel-shoes/

​

Why did the students make 2 or 3 different prototypes as they worked on their solution?

What did they learn after each prototype? Prototypes should look like your sketch.

​

Prototypes:

Help you explain your idea to others

Test your idea to see if it works

Get feedback from your user - What do they like? What do they not like?

Allows ITERATION: Gives you the opportunity to make your prototype better with each one you make!

It is okay if the first ones are messy. Remember to Fail Fast in order to get to your final prototype.

Your final prototype should be neat, but it does not have to actually work. It is important that it gives the user an idea of how it would work.

​

​

Design Thinking Challenge

​

Find your "elbow partner" who is the USER.

Have him or her select one item from the chart below that he or she NEEDS or WANTS