At first, I think me, FP and Oumar’s project was actually a really good idea that could lead to somewhere good if we had more time. We decided that we would make a connect 4 game. We wanted to add rules to make it more science appropriate, so we said that to win, you needed to put 4 elements in a row. It wouldn’t be that easy, obviously. The 4 elements that were needed to be in the same row had to have the same number of valence electrons We made a connect 4 box with the Stryrofoam in the makerspace.  

 

Later on, we faced issues. First of all, we weren’t able to keep the box without breaking it, and the material was very sensitive. When we realized that, we ran out of time. Luckily, Oumar was able to save us with a homemade tic tac toe game that took the spot of our connect 4.  

 

To make the game more difficult, we added that to place a coin at the spot that you wanted, you needed to answer one of our questions on a flash card. Sadly, we were way too busy finishing our box to take care of the flash cards.  We had problems managing our time because sometimes, instead of working, we were just thinking and doing way too many drafts.

 

Before we created the game I thought I knew enough about atoms and the periodic table. I thought that my knowledge was enough to design the game and to make the questions hard enough. I was obviously wrong. My knowledge was way too shallow and I couldn’t base my questions on what I knew. I needed the help of my partners and of the internet.

 

If I were to redo this assessment, I would’ve used my time more efficiently. Most of the time, I was thinking instead of doing the work on the project. I wasted lots of time doing this and I think it slowed our group down a bit. Plus now that I know a bit more about the Maker Space, I’d know where to go and what to do unlike before.

 

While I was playing Danae and Anjali’s game, I realized that the work that we put in wasn’t enough at all. They worked at their houses, and the whole time (I think) they were using their time and space very efficiently. I actually felt really bad comparing their game to ours.

 

I’m sorry to say, but I have to admit our game didn’t end up meeting the standards I was expecting to meet. Even though we had trouble getting our stuff together, we could’ve put in more effort. It was our first project though, and on the next one I expect way more from myself and my peers.