Is it possible to build a car out of cardboard, wooden rods, and rubber bands?  The Girlstart girls of Caraway Elementary proved it is possible by investigating the relationship between physical forces and mechanical energy.  Each group built a working car and some even discovered ways to make it travel longer.






Modeling the most effective design.

The girls from Gilbert Elementary traveled back into time and communicated with each other using international Morse Code! They created circuits using buzzers to learn about transferring electrical energy to sound energy. They learned how to receive and send messages using a switch they fastened onto their buzzer circuit. It was quite the chit-chat!



While trying to make their buzzer work, the girls realized a closed circuit is necessary in order for it to conduct electricity.

Metals in paper clips, wires, and binding clips are conductors because they let electricity pass through them. Did you know that certain liquids can also be conductors? The Girlstart participants at McBee Elementary created a circuit to test if certain liquids were conductors. They discovered that the solutions containing ions can conduct electricity.


Part of the engineering design process is brainstorming! Girlstart participants write down their great ideas in their notebooks so they don't forget any of them.

This week the Trinity Girlstart Club learned about many of the devastating effects that can be caused by an oil spill! We took a look at what it is like to be an environmental scientist by exploring several methods of cleaning up oil slicks in the ocean.  We also investigated a few of the negative effects that an oil spill can have on wildlife.