Series · 3 missions
Engineers on the Line
A car, a spacecraft and a bridge. Three engineering calls where cost, time and safety pull in different directions.
- Ages
- 13 to 18
- Time
- About 60 minutes in all
- Shape
- 3 missions, in order
What the series asks
Every design is a trade. In this series your teen makes the calls engineers and managers faced, and has to say who carries the risk of each choice.
It starts with a cost-and-schedule decision on a small car, moves to a crew where every minute and every amp counts, and ends with a structure that has to be judged while it is already in use.
Each mission stands on its own, so your teen can start anywhere. What really happened is shown only after your teen writes a defense, one mission at a time.
The suggested order
- Part 1 · The Ford Pinto · 1968 to 1970 · ages 13 to 15The $11 QuestionA small car must weigh under 2,000 pounds and cost under $2,000. A crash test just showed a problem.
- Part 2 · Apollo 13 · April 1970 · ages 13 to 15Apollo 13: Bring Them HomeA tank fails 200,000 miles from home. Power, air and time are all short.
- Part 3 · The Tacoma Narrows Bridge · 1940 · ages 16 to 18Galloping GertieA new bridge moves in the wind. How much risk is too much?
Skills it practices
Weighing trade-offs, Using evidence, Judging risk, Seeing other sides, Seeing ripple effects, Making a clear argument.
Opening soon.
Accounts open shortly. Every student gets 15 free tutor messages, enough to try a mission. Signed-in students see their place in each series on their home page.