For over 2000 years humans have used waterwheels to harness the energy of moving water to do work. Early engineers designed these waterwheels and the many useful machines and devices that made use of the power they produced. In this lesson, student-engineering teams will design and build a model of a waterwheel that not only meets the specific needs of a community, but also is efficient. They will investigate how structural form and design affects the function and efficiency of their waterwheel. Class Pack includes enough materials to build 30 kits.

LEARNING GOALS Grade 7

• Students will use the engineering design process to construct a waterwheel and investigate how the shape, angle and position of the paddles affect the efficiency of their waterwheel. Grade 8

•Students will use the engineering design process to construct a waterwheel and investigate the work done by their system and how the shape, angle and position of the paddles affect power output.

Instructions and student worksheets can be found online at http://www.wemadeit.ca/teachers