Seventh-graders Design Zipline System

Seventh-graders in Karen Glum’s Innovation Lab took part in a challenge that put their design thinking skills to the test. Glum asked students to design and build a zipline system under the premise that they were helping the fairy tale character Little Red Riding Hood send items to her grandmother because a wolf has made it too dangerous to walk through the forest. Glum said students made engineering and economic decisions in their designs, and they used materials such as string and cardboard to create their ziplines. “Students also had to make design decisions based on information about Grandma and Little Red Riding Hood,” Glum said. “For example, grandma being a stringent environmentalist so that should affect the type of basket they use.”