2020 Volume 62 Issue 2 Pages 103-112
The aim of this study was to develop a free-standing metal-pipe hammock and to investigate its effectiveness as a teaching material in junior high school technology and home economics lessons. While understanding structural strength is as important as understanding the strength of different types of materials, it is difficult for junior high school students to learn about structural strength. However, assembling a structure whose purpose is to sustain its own weight can help them understand the mechanism of structural strength. We developed a free-standing hammock that students assembled by putting together metal pipes, thus creating an object that sustained its own weight. We found that our free-standing hammock was effective in teaching students how to work with metals, as well as the principles of design and structural strength.
