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High Top Hats
Challenge:
Design and build the tallest possible "hat" that can be balanced on one's head, without otherwise being touched, during a fifty -foot walk. For an excellent addition to the challenge, require the hat support a small cup of water at its upper-most point!
Typical time for this task:
20 minutes.
Materials:
Four (4) manila file folders, three (3) feet of tape (masking or cellophane), and six (6) feet of string. A pair of scissors and a ruler are all that is needed for construction. If water is involved, then a second cup will be needed to fill the first.
Ages:
Any group that can be trusted with scissors.
Rules and limitations:
The hat and any attachments to it, such as guy wires, flying buttresses, etc., may be attached to and touch only the tester's head or neck. This diabolically means no extra touching or readjustments of the hat during the test walk! Yet, a system held in the mouth, woven into the hair, anchored at the ears or eye glasses is permitted so long as it only involves the tester's head and neck area. The project must, of course, be done within the time allowed and with only the materials provided.
If a catastrophic failure occures duing the intial test walk, one quick do over may be permitted. This might include a simple adjustment or a bold intervention of tearing the system down to just a few inches in height. In any event, the entire test walk must be repeated.
Evalutaion:
If the walk is completed without the hat falling or becoming supported by the tester outside of the rules, measure it from the upper most portion of the tester's head to the upper most tip of the system (or to the rim of the same water-filled cup, any level of fill will do). The tilting of one's head for balance or greater height is permitted.
A common carpenter's retractable tape is excellent for the verticle measurement or, less suitably, the hats can be removed, placed on the floor, and compared. If a system partially collapses or droops, only verticle distance is measured and not linear bowed distance.
Tips for the presenter:
This system is best designed and built by a small team of 3-4 people, but it is also possible to do this on an individual basis.
Establish and show a convenient, unobstructed course to be walked at the time the project is presented. Encourage the whole team to take the test walk and provide verbal cues to the unencumbered tester.
A low ceiling and light fixtures will greatly limit the possibilities, so it is the most fun to test in a gymnasium or simialr type room. Bleachers, an open stair well, etc., can greatly help, particularly for filling a water cup should that be required. A step ladder is handy both for filling the cup and measuring the hats, but it is highly recommend to have a responsible person hold it and supervise its use.
A quick do over option adds to both interesting group dynamics and alert contingency planning. For example, tearing a failed system in half and just clinching a piece of it in on'e teeth assures at least some points. Frequently, goups just cannot agree to abandon a failed plan. Such blunders create memorable, teachable moments.
Good luck!
Copyright, Larry Busch, 2005.
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