On the second day, we'll discuss how engineers blend creativity and inventiveness with the competing constraints of real-world problem-solving. What makes a good design... good? We'll see how designs move from high-level concepts to low-level details, and learn about symmetry, modularity, and the beauty of simplicity. And we'll start sketching out our own designs for the competition!

Why do bridges look the way they do? How do engineers use math to get the most performance out of materials? On the third day, we'll examine some fundamental principles of engineering like force and torque, strength and stiffness, tension and compression, ductile and brittle materials, beams, and joints. We'll apply these principles to improve our designs as they evolve from concept to solution.

One of the hardest lessons to learn is that our plans don't always work the way we thought they would. An essential part of the engineering process is testing and iteration. That's what prototypes are all about! On day four we'll build one of the critical submodules we've designed, identify any "surprises", and use those lessons to improve our final design.

Today, we'll see how everything we've learned comes together. On Day 5 we'll assemble the parts we've designed into a full assembly, test our designs, and celebrate our success!