Mrs. Finn’s 5th grade Challenge Program students from Grant-White and Field-Stevenson visited Argonne National Laboratory on Thursday, October 11th for a special workshop on Building a Better Battery. This lab allowed students to explore the process of accelerating discovery using the “sprint” method which requires collaboration and communication. The project goal was to develop a prototype battery that will be used to power a toy car.
Using the sprint research strategy, small groups of students will have limited time to investigate a specific aspect of a battery design to collect data, look for trends, and report back to the team. The team reviews the small group’s recommendations and through scientific argumentation and then comes to a consensus about that aspect of the battery’s design.
The teams each built part of the battery cell that would power a capacitor which would be used to power a toy car. They enjoyed this experimentation with the “sprint” team method – it enabled them to work efficiently through experiments while getting feedback on their research.
