The Treasure Chests

Objective

Students design vehicles to accomplish a specific task.

Description

There are secret treasure chests located in different places all over the world, but special machines must be invented in order to reach them.

Procedures

Before class begins:

1. The teacher should determine the number of teams the students will be divided into. This may depend upon either the number of students in the class or sets available for use.
2. When a number has been determined, the teacher should come up with a variety of locations in which a treasure chest could be hidden. (The number of different locations should be at least the same as the number of groups involved.)
3. Once the locations have been determined, write each one on a piece of paper, fold it, and place it in a bowl so that students may draw the location randomly.

   Suggestions for possible treasure chest locations:
   Buried deep inside a cave or mountain
   At the bottom of an ocean, sea, or lake
   On a different planet within our solar system
   On top of the highest mountain peak or tallest building
   Deep inside Earth's crust
   In another galaxy
   On a secluded island

During class activity:

1. Divide the students into groups and give a quick introduction to the activity. To spark the interest of younger students, a story starter could be used.

   Example: The Tribe of the LEGO was one of the richest ever known to humankind. Their treasures far exceeded the amount of any other tribe or pirate clan. Though they were very rich, they were also very selfish and did not want to share their wealth with anyone. So they hid their treasures in locations that are very hard to reach. In this bowl are the different locations of each of the treasure chests. Once the location has been revealed, it is up to your teams to invent machines that will enable you to reach and recover the lost treasure.

2. After the explanation or story starter, the teacher will allow one student from each group to draw a location out of the bowl.
3. Once the students have received their treasure chest location, it is up to them to use the Tech Machines Set and invent a machine that will aid them in recovering it.
4. When construction is finished, students will explain how their machine allowed them to reach the treasure.

Discussion

1. Before the students begin building, the teacher must discuss the different types of machines that could be used to reach the location. Should they build an aircraft such as a rocket, airplane, or helicopter? What about a submarine or a tough land vehicle capable of digging holes?
2. At the end of the activity the students are then able to discuss their solution.
3. What do the students call their machine?
4. Does this machine enable them to accomplish their mission? What other designs were considered?
5. Were the designs they used based upon machines they have seen before?

Continuation

If the students are old enough, it could be beneficial to use actual locations around the world and the galaxy. Students could be encouraged to research this location or planet and write a brief description which they could present to the class along with their machine. This enhances both communications skills and their understanding of the world and universe around them.