|
|
Article: Lawn mower makeovers: there is much to think about with our old friend the ubiquitous lawn mower, probably more than most people would initially imagine.(Classroom Challenge)
- Article from:
- The Technology Teacher
- Article date:
- May 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 International Technology Education Association. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Lawn mowers are about as mundane as it gets, but lurking here are some pretty interesting problems and concerns for your students or teams of students to address. Challenge them to first understand how this technology came about, and then engage their creativity to redesign this common outdoor appliance.
Introduction
Today you can buy three basic types of lawn mowers for the home: gasoline, electric, and the old push-powered model (though they are getting hard to find and are now expensive). Gasoline models tend to dominate the market, especially for large lawns. So pervasive have these petroleum-based-fuel models become that some communities are quite ...