Here is a project I put together with my former teaching partner, Linda Benson. We were looking for a quick but engaging hands-on project that integrated many subject areas. It ties together Math (scale, proportion, surface area, integers), Science (light: law of reflection)

HERE is the document we circulated to the class after creating the criteria with them.

Design a hole for a Mini-Golf Course

Using materials of your choice, you and a partner will design and create a table-top mini golf hole using marbles for the ball, and a finger-flick for propulsion. While each hole will be a par 5 it must be possible for a player to get a hole-in-one.

Criteria:

• must have a one-shot solution
• must fit entirely on the surface of a regular classroom table
• must use at least one reflection in the solution
• the hole must be 1.5x larger than the marble
• playing field must be decorated with an appealing theme
• must have a flag with your assigned hole number
• include a scale diagram of the hole showing:
  • the one-shot solution (include incident and reflected rays, angles of incidence and reflection, and normal)
  • the total surface area of the playing field
  • the perimeter of the playing field
  • the linear distance from the tee box to the hole

Materials:

Each team will be given the following materials.

• 50 popsicle sticks
• 30 toothpicks
• 8 cubic centimetres of modeling clay
• 2 sheets of 18” x 24” green construction paper
• 1 marble per team

No replacements or “seconds” will be provided, so TAKE CARE!