Design a Park

In this activity, learners are invited to imagine the park of their dreams! In small groups, learners place moveable pieces on a grid, iterating on their plan together to create a plan for a community park. A variety of park features are offered as choices to include on the map, including a playground, skate park, water features, picnic areas, trails, and more. Like real-world projects, the plan is limited by the realities of space and funds. For younger learners, groups are limited to choosing less than 10 features. Learners ages 9 and up are limited not by the number of features, but by their cost in terms of points: They are challenged to keep track of the points on the park features cards and use less than 250 total points. Some park features, including a natural wetland and ice cream shop, promise to provide revenue back to the community and are worth points. Others, like a skate park or swimming pool, "cost" points. This activity is part of a curriculum designed to engage learners in hands-on engineering challenges.