Students find out what composite materials are and test them to learn their advantages over pure materials. They design a prototype composite material to make a strong, lightweight fishing pole.

By incorporating everyday materials into science lessons, the Materials World Modules (MWM) program at Northwestern University has found the solution to getting students excited about learning science while helping teachers meet national and state education standards.

The modules are easy to organize and inexpensive to run. They can be incorporated into any science class because of the breadth of subjects covered in the Activity and Design Project sections. Each module is a supplemental science unit that takes 1-3 weeks of class time (approximately 10 hours) to complete.

MWM will give students an opportunity to understand the world around them in a way they have never experienced before. The modules promote an awareness of the roles science and technology play in society and guide students to take increased control of their work.

» Module At-a-Glance
» Connecting to Your Curriculum
» Video Clips

Activity 1: Testing Different Kinds of Ice
By comparing pure ice with ice reinforced with toilet paper, students will learn what composite materials are and discover their relative strength.

Activity 2: Hunting for Composite Materials
Students will search their surroundings for objects made of composite materials. (they won't have to look far). They will get ideas about some of the advantages of different composites.

Activity 3: Exploring the Difference Between Strength and Stiffness
Strength and stiffness are two important properties of many composites. Students will test a variety of materials, comparing these two independent properties.

Activity 4: Testing a Foam Composite for Strength and Stiffness
When a plain beam made out of polystyrene gets reinforced, top and bottom, with a strip of construction paper, the resulting composite is much stronger and stiffer than the original beam. Students will test this for themselves and see some of the limitations of composites, as well.

Activity 5: Researching Composites
With this independent research project, students go to the library to find information on modern composites, how they were developed, how they are manufactured, and what people use them for. They will get a first-hand view of the close interconnections between science, technology, and society.

Design Project 1: Designing a Fishing Pole
Based on what they learned about strength, stiffness, and composites testing and construction, students will participate in a contest to build the strongest, most flexible, and lightest fishing pole. But no hooks, lines, or sinkers will be flying around your classroom. The fishing-pole prototyping is done in miniature, with plastic straws as the base.

Design Project 2: Designing a New Material
Students will build on their independence as they design, test, evaluate, and redesign a composite material of their own making for whatever use they deem appropriate. The project simulates the process engineers use when they work on new designs and may inspire some students to look into a career in the applied sciences.

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Materials World Modules are simple to organize and inexpensive to run. They are designed to be easily incorporated into any middle school science or high school science lab or lecture course. The chart below lists the subjects covered in the Activities and Design Projects sections of this module.

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Ken Turner talks about the Composites Module
Real Player:  low | mid | hi QuickTime:  low | mid | hi Short clip (00:30)	Real Player:  low | mid | hi QuickTime:  low | mid | hi Full length (8:09)

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