Challenge
Build a calming room for the Incorrigible Sulk that is strong enough to withstand her super strength while also helping her calm down when she gets upset.
Sulk is a superhero with incredible strength, but when things don’t go her way—like finding out the ice cream shop is out of mint chocolate chip—she can lose her temper and accidentally destroy everything around her. Brainiac needs our help designing a special room where Sulk can safely calm down and regain control of her emotions.
To make things even more challenging, the room must be able to balance on top of a cup, since Brainiac’s home is located high up on a mountain.
Constraints and Success Criteria
- The room must balance completely on top of a cup without falling off.
- Include 3–5 integrated calming features or activities designed to help Sulk regulate her emotions.
- The room must be strong enough to withstand a superhero with super strength.
- All calming features should be contained within the room and accessible to Sulk.
- The design should remain stable while balancing on the cup during testing.
Materials
Logistics
- Prepare Materials: Ensure all materials are organized and ready before students begin. Review any material limitations and encourage students to plan carefully before building.
- Set Up Testing Area: Create a designated testing station using cups as the mountain-top foundation. Students will test whether their calming rooms can successfully balance on top of the cup.
- Provide Guidelines and Constraints: Review the challenge requirements and emphasize that the room must both support calming activities and remain balanced on the cup. Students should consider both emotional regulation and structural stability.
- Model the Design Process: Demonstrate how students can brainstorm calming features, sketch ideas, build prototypes, test their designs, and make improvements based on results.
- Encourage Collaboration: Foster a collaborative environment where students work together in pairs to share ideas, troubleshoot challenges, and provide constructive feedback. No groups of three.
- Support Adaptation: Encourage students to view failed tests as opportunities for improvement. Guide them in identifying ways to strengthen their structures or improve the effectiveness of their calming features.
- Facilitate Reflection: Ask students to reflect on how their design helps Sulk manage strong emotions. Encourage discussion about how engineers often design spaces that support people’s physical and emotional needs.
- Celebrate and Showcase: Once students have completed their calming rooms, provide opportunities for them to share their designs, explain their calming features, and demonstrate how their room balances on top of the cup.
CASEL Discussion Questions
Five questions aligned to Self-Management — our focus CASEL competency for this challenge — to encourage thoughtful discussion and social-emotional learning.
- What kinds of situations might cause Sulk to become upset, and why is it important to have healthy ways to calm down?
- Which calming feature did you include in your room, and how do you think it would help Sulk manage her emotions?
- How did you balance the need for a strong room with the need for calming activities inside it?
- What strategies do you use when you feel frustrated or disappointed?
- How can planning ahead help us manage our emotions before a small problem becomes a bigger one?
