Land Yachts is an engaging project first run

by the oz-Teachernet in 2007. In its first year

of operation, it received a Highly Commended
Award from ISTE, the International Society for
Technology Education. 2008 is its second year
of operation and we are hoping that school
students and practising and pre-service
teachers will again take part and enjoy this
activity.

A Wind-powered Land Yacht is a small

vehicle, constructed from recyclable materials
and common household items, that is designed
to run by wind power. The idea is adaptable to
other environments - as seen in the Ice Yachts
project.

Have a look at our snapshots page to see what

a wind-powered "yacht" will look like in this
challenge! Have a look at an excerpt from a
2007 blog!

Each "yacht" project will have a Big Race Day

when videos will be made and uploaded to the
site for others to share.

This challenge is open for students in Years 4-

9, home schoolers are also welcome. This is
not competitive and all entrants will receive a
Certificate of Participation. Pre-service teachers
are also welcome to participate and learn, at
first hand, how teaching and learning can
happen in online spaces.

The Challenge for your students:

In Learning Teams of three to four, students
are to design and construct a Wind-powered
Yacht. Each teams' yacht will be "raced"
against other yachts. The goal is to design and
construct a yacht that will travel the longest
distance on Race Day.

During the construction phase of the

challenge, each team will keep a blog of their
progress and upload photos to share with the
'land yacht' community. Each team will also be
required - as they engage in "working
scientifically" - to gather and record data
during the construction and testing of their
yachts and share this data with other teams via
the website.
This activity will address the key learning areas
of Technology, Science, and Mathematics.
Guidelines will be set for all students taking
part in the challenge.

Although some aspects of the challenge will be

public, you must be registered to take part in
this project. To register for Land Yachts 2008,
visit the project page and enter your details.
We will approve this and add you to a
Last Modified:
dedicated 12:16:30
teachers' emailSunday, 26 project.
list for the October, 2008
Registration is now open and will remain open
until the end of September.

• TEAMS
Details of how OF 3 OR SO
to upload images and videos, to
• TEAMS SELECT A NAME
upload team test data and – ‘ SPEEDinDEMONS’
to participate the
• PHOTOGRAPH PROGRESS
Yacht-blogs will be made available to registered
•
teams.

http://www.oz-teachernet.edu.au/projects/pastprojects/2007/blogs/

Thursday, August 09 2007

11:57 am Bill's land yacht report

The black pearls have come up with a simple idea, made with: a soft
drink can, a plastic bag, 3 chopsticks and some cardboard. A land yacht is
basically a wind powered car, or a car with no engine and a sail. It should
be as light as possible and able to be pushed by a breeze. Land yachting is
actually a real sport with full sized yachts that look like dirt buggies with
sails. Our design is a soft drink can with both ends cut off (to minimize
weight and wind resistance), chopsticks for axles, cardboard wheels, a
chopstick for a mast, and a plastic bag (the kind used for fruit and veggies
at the supermarket) for a sail. The aluminium in the can is light and the
yacht should not be too heavy overall, and I know for a fact that small
plastic bags can carry things reasonable distances.

Sunday, August 12 2007 7:08 PM By Teacher

 It will be interesting to test your plastic bag idea. Will the situations
you know of where they can carry things reasonable distances
transfer well to an application on Land Yachts?

Also, consider the safety aspects of cutting the aluminum can. The
fact that they are light (a good thing) is because they are thin and
will make a sharp (possible jagged) edge when you cut it. Consider
how you will cut it safely and further, use it for construction of the
yacht (safely). - Teacher

Monday, August 13 2007 2:06 PM By Joe

I thought if you minimise wind resistance, it gets worse. - Joe

Monday, August 13 2007 2:20 PM By Teacher

Minimizing wind resistance means that the yacht won't have to push
against air but cut through it. The thin edge will go straight through
the air and will go faster. The bottom of the can would normally have
to move wind away and make it slower, but with a thin edge it will go
a lot more quickly.

Thursday, September 06 2007 10:22 AM By Sarah

Hi it's Sarah, what have u been doing to the yacht? Have you had any
more test runs? Have you changed anything to the yacht to make it
faster?

Last Modified: 20:15:22 Friday, 25 April, 2008

……………………………………………………………………………………

About Land Yachts 2009

Land Yachts is designed to be used across the curriculum. In our previous
projects, teachers have used Land Yachts for science, design and
technology, ICT, English and craft. In some cases, it has just been for
fun!!

Expectations
All students can safely participate in a web 2.0 online community.
Collaboration between students and schools is encouraged. It's all about
learning by doing and learning with the support of others.
Guidelines

Fan Information
A standard household fan should be used.

Track Information
A "track" can be any open space but ideally is a flat, hard surface indoors
or in a covered space. The floor could be wood, lino or concrete. The
longest distance covered so far is about 14 metres!

Materials
The following materials are allowed: * Recyclable materials such as
cardboard boxes, plastic containers, jar lids and cartons. * Stationery
items such as paper clips, rubber bands, pencils, rulers and erasers. *
Common household items such as sponges, CDs, cotton buds, material
off-cuts, aluminium foil, plastic wrap and plastic. * Hardware items such
as timber off-cuts, screws, nails and sandpaper. racer The following
materials are NOT allowed: * Construction materials such as Lego * Pre-
made materials such as pre-made wheels, yacht bodies or sails * Toys
such as toy cars, boats or trains

Design
All designs must be original - not copied from an existing design. When
designing, team members must not receive input or advice from anyone
other than their team members. Team members may discuss their design
with a teacher. During discussions, teachers must not offer direct advice.
In order to challenge students to think carefully about their design,
teachers may, however, ask questions such as: * Why did you design the
wheels like that? * Did you have any other ideas for the shape of the sail?
Design Plans are to be presented on A3 paper and must show: *
measurements * materials to be used * connectives (how the materials
will be connected together * uop view, side view and front view
Accompanying their Design Plans, teams are to include paragraphs that
describe: * Why particular design elements were included * Prediction of
how far the yacht will travel on Race Day

Construction
All construction is to take place at school and be supervised by a teacher.
Team members are responsible for the construction of their yachts and
must not receive help from anyone outside of their team. All cutting of
materials, including timber off-cuts, is the responsibility of the team
members and must be supervised by a teacher. If any constructions
processes are deemed to be unsafe, the teacher must instruct team
members to choose other methods of construction. During construction,
teams may decide that the design of their yacht needs to be altered. If
this is the case, the alterations must be recorded on the Design Plan with
an explanation as to why the changes were made.
Testing Rules
Teams will be given time to test their yachts multiple times before Race
Day. A space has been provided to record results to encourage students
to understand systematic and/or "fair" testing. During testing, the teams
will have access to the fan and race track. Teams members are to record
how far their yacht travels during testing. This information is to be posted
on the website. Teams may need to make adjustments to the yacht and
the original Design Plan. If this is the case, the adjustments must be
recorded on the Design Plan with an explanation as to why the changes
were made.

Racing Rules
The yachts are to be raced one at a time. The project is not designed to
be competitive but students should aim for the optimum performance
from their yacht. When called, teams are to place their yacht on the race
track on the start line. Teams are not to adjust the fan. The teacher will
signal the start of the race. At this time, all team members are to stand
back. One team member is to start the fan. The yacht is not to be touched
by any person while in motion. When the yacht has stopped moving, the
teacher is to measure how far the yacht travelled. This data is to be
posted on the website. The teacher is to signal when the team can remove
their yacht from the race track. Each race is to be filmed and posted on
the website.

Last Modified: 21:29:46 Sunday, 4 October, 2009

Term 1. NMS Yr 7 LWS Project

We will be designing, constructing,
critiquing and producing a photographic
journal for a LAND YACHT.

Students will need to keep me updated regularly at:

trevor.primmer@ntschools.net