Pringles Project...

Curriculum Goals:

• To engineer a package to have the smallest volume and smallest mass that will protect the chip so that it arrives at its destination undamaged.

Classroom Activities:   Students will design and test a container for shipping a single Pringles potato chip, via the US Postal Service. You will exchange packages with a partner school somewhere in the United States. Upon arrival the packages will be evaluated and scored using the format found in the scoring section.

 Rules:

• Students will use 1 regular Pringles potato chip.
• No substance may be applied to the chip nor can the chip be altered in any way.
• The chip must be recoverable and edible (but don’t eat them!) when received by the evaluating school.
• There is a 3x5 limit on the size of the package and a fussy postman may reject a smaller package. However in the past, many packages smaller than 3” x 5”  have been delivered, so getting a small package through the mail is part of the challenge.
• You may only write “Fragile” or “Handle with Care” on the package

The following measurements must be made by the person/team constructing and  sending the package::

• Mass of the package in pounds/oz

• Volume of the package in inches.

* Because you must compute the volume of your package, it is important that you make your package a standard shape that there is a formula available for. However, you may be creative with your shapes. You can research “Platonic Solids” to find an interesting shape and the appropriate net for the design of your package, but be sure that you can find a formula for the volume of that shape.

Contents of package: Flour, sugar or any other white powder substance cannot be used to package the Pringle. Be as creative as you would like, but be considerate of the student who will be opening and analyzing your Pringle.

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RESULTS: Thanks to Mrs. Kumar for making the comprehensive graphs and thanks to students for making graphs of their own results! Click on the graph to see a larger graph.

Here are pictures of the Pringle's Project.  You can see students Packing their chip to be mailed, opening their packages from the school in New Jersey and participating in our first ever video conference! What a fun project this was!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Links:
The Original Pringles Project

Handouts:
Overview of Pringles Project Handout
Pringle's Project Graph Instructions