for the past couple of months in Maker Time we have been working on a blue sky project all about Harry Potter.
Just like the previous blue sky projects we had to come up with an inquiry question that would result in a project giving an answer to the question.
Now, I’m a big Harry Potter fan, I have been one for many years, and I really liked the sport of quidditch. So I came up with a question “How can I re-design a broom to be more aerodynamic and overall faster than the firebolt broom which is currently the fastest broom?”
After coming up with my question and getting it approved, I set to work. I started with researching about aerodynamics and it’s basic principles.
Based off of my research I came up with a design for my new and improved broom.
I also decided to properly show the difference in aerodynamics from the firebolt I needed to also make the firebolt.
So, after doing all of this I arranged a time with my friend Robbie to go over to his house and work on making the brooms.
At his house we began to make my new broom and we started and finished the firebolt.
I started by using a knife to whittle down the tip into a point.
I then sanded down the point as well as the entire shaft so the air would be able to pass over the broom cleanly. Then I took two pieces of plastic and morphed them into the shape I wanted them to be, based off of the design and attached them to the shaft at the back so they could be footholds.
Then I took some bristles from one of my dad’s brooms and attached them to the back of the broom.
During all of that I was starting to make the wind tunnel.
I began with taking a cardboard box and cutting a hole in one side to accommodate a fan and then made a stand for the fan to rest on.
Then I made the first draft of a broom mount.
I began with cutting out multiple pieces of modelling wood and creating a frame that is quite stable.
Then I attached it to the center of the wind tunnel and tested it out.
It was able to support both brooms when the fan is turned on and off but the problem with this particular mount is that it wasn’t able to fully show the aerodynamics of the broom because air couldn’t pass over the entire broom.
So after getting some overall critique from my dad I started to construct a new broom mount. After consulting my dad him and I came up with an idea of using fishing wire to to suspend the brooms in front of the fan.
After creating that I tried to think of a way to actually visually show which broom was more aerodynamic and came up with smoke bombs.
I found a recipe online and set to work making and setting up the test area in my garage.
Once everything was ready we tested it. (Click on the link below to see the video)
As you can see it didn’t work too well but it was still better than the last testing despit not being able to tell which broom was more aerodynamic. So I came up with plan C.
I cut up little strips of plastic from shopping bags and glued them to key points of the broom. I then tested it and you can finally tell which broom was more aerodynamic…. (Click below for the video)
My new and improved broom.
Now came the time for the actual presentation. We were put into groups based off of our projects. I was apart of the magic group, I don’t know why. We then had to find a place in the Harry Potter world that related to our projects and we came up with the dorm rooms.
We then then started to plan everything which took a while but in the end it all came together and was pretty darn cool.
I really enjoyed this project, despite the loss of sleep it has caused, and I think everyone had solid projects that were all quite interesting.
I think the one thing I regret about the project in general is not starting the creation of everything sooner because I used about a week to research when I pretty much could have done it in one night, so I think that comes down to time management and not getting started sooner.