Sixteen excited and nervous 8th graders boarded a bus last Friday to head to UWM to see how their building prototypes held up to a simulated earthquake.  All of their hard work was about to be put to the test.   While this may have been the important culminating moment of the project for many of the students, the real learning actually took place in the many days before this moment.  In learning, it is the process that matters, not the final product.  It was through researching, asking questions, brainstorming, tinkering, planning, designing, building prototypes of prototypes, trying new things, failing, redesigning and collaborating that students learned how to think and act like engineers.   And, I have been so proud of the willingness of the students to engage so meaningfully in this process.    Congratulations to all teams!  In the next several days, students will be finishing up the remaining parts of the project.    Please check your child’s blog to see a video of their simulation and to read their final report and reflection.