Summary
The SciGirls join a giant-puppet theater company and engineer parade puppets tall enough to tower over a crowd -- balancing weight, joints and push-and-pull forces so the puppets can actually move.
Viewer safety
Ages 7+
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Discussion
Full episode (28 min) from SciGirls, season 1.
- Where did the girls have to push or pull to make the puppet move?
- Why does a tall puppet tip over more easily than a short one?
- What did they change after their first test, and why?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: force, balance, engineer, prototype.
Try it: Build a simple stick puppet with one moving joint. Draw an arrow showing where you push or pull, and write one change you would make next time.