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5th Grade  Project 6 weeks

Fix-It Toy Lab: Design, Test, Repair!

Sarah F
Updated
3-5-ETS1-1
3-5-ETS1-2
3-5-ETS1-3
5-PS1-3
Collaboration
+ 4 more
1-pager

The Challenge

When toys you use have inaccessible fasteners, inseparable parts, or hard-to-identify materials, one failed component can make the entire product unusable. Discarding whole toys wastes usable materials, increases landfill volume, and adds to the environmental impacts of manufacturing and transporting replacements.

Challenge Question

How might we redesign broken donated toys for the Chicago Public Library so that local families can repair and reuse them longer while reducing waste and environmental harm?

Standards

  • [Next Generation Science Standards] 3-5-ETS1-1 - Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
  • [Next Generation Science Standards] 3-5-ETS1-2 - Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
  • [Next Generation Science Standards] 3-5-ETS1-3 - Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.
  • [Next Generation Science Standards] 5-PS1-3 - Make observations and measurements to identify materials based on their properties.

Competencies

  • Collaboration - Students co-design projects with peers, exercise shared-decision making, strengthen relational agency, resolve conflict, and assume leadership roles.
  • Critical Thinking & Problem Solving - Students consider a variety of innovative approaches to address and understand complex questions that are authentic and important to their communities.
  • Content Expertise - Students develop key competencies, skills, and dispositions with ample opportunities to apply knowledge and engage in work that matters to them.
  • Effective Communication - Students practice listening to understand, communicating with empathy, and share their learning through exhibiting, presenting and reflecting on their work.
  • Self Directed Learning - Students use teacher and peer feedback and self-reflection to monitor and direct their own learning while building self knowledge both in and out of the classroom.

Learning Partners and Clients

The Chicago Public Library will serve as the client, sharing broken donated toys and helping students consider how repair and reuse can reduce toy waste in Chicago. The library can provide feedback on prototypes, repair guides, and their potential to keep toys in use longer; contact https://www.chipublib.org/contact/. Northwestern University’s Materials Research Science and Engineering Center can help students test plastics, fabrics, fasteners, and joints for durability, repairability, and reduced material waste; contact https://mrsec.northwestern.edu/.

Phase Overview

Phase Key Experiences
Discover
I can inspect broken donated toys during a simulated Chicago Public Library toy-swap intake, interview a librarian, and map how materials, weak parts, and difficult repairs contribute to waste and environmental harm.
Examine
I can observe and measure the properties of plastics, fabrics, fasteners, and joints to identify materials that support durability, repair, and reuse. I can investigate toy failure points and explain how discarded toys affect families, library staff, landfill waste, and natural resources. I can consult Northwestern University materials experts and compare repair solutions using criteria and constraints for safety, environmental impact, materials, time, and cost.
Engineer
I can develop, as a product designer, a durable, repairable toy prototype that conserves resources by being easy to take apart, fix, and reuse, along with a labeled repair guide shaped through shared team decisions.
Do
I can complete repeated use-and-repair cycles, control one variable at a time, collect durability and repair data, estimate waste avoided through reuse, identify failure points, and use Chicago Public Library feedback to judge effectiveness.
Share
I can share an interactive repair demonstration, prototype, evidence of reduced toy waste, learning journey, and reflection on my growth as a collaborator, problem solver, and environmentally responsible product designer with Chicago Public Library staff, Northwestern materials experts, families, and peers.