Cowboy Class

Tall Tales and an engineering challenge? Yup! As we TRANSITION into our studies of Westward Expansion, I figured it was time to read about that rooting' tootin' cowboy, Pecos Bill, and his blushing bride, Sluefoot Sue. We read a version that describes how Pecos Bill's wild horse tosses Sue out of the saddle and she bounces between the moon and the mountaintops until he lassos her out of the sky.

So, of course, we had to try to make our own lasso. The challenge: Can you create a working lasso out of 4 plastic grocery bags?

We cut and tied, twisted, and cut and tied some more...

Then we tested...

Then we added a few more twists and other finishing touches, and finally we lassoed!

Yee haw!

What we noticed about our success (or lack of): "It worked!" "It stayed together." "I was not successful because my lasso was not strong enough." "My lasso was not heavy enough." "The hoop of my lasso was too small."

What we thought was most difficult: "Lassoing the chair!" "Making the loop because you had to tie the plastic bags." "Making the rope was the most difficult part because we only got four bags."

What was the best idea you came up with? "A short lasso with a huge hoop." "A powerful throw!" "My best idea was to tape the rope." "Making it super thin so it would be easier to make a rope from it."

What did you learn? "Building with bags is hard. The bag drifts and doesn't go straight." "use strong materials to make things." "Next time I will tie it [to make it heavier and easier to throw]." "You need more than 4 bags. If I had more, I would have made a wider lasso loop." "It is super hard!"

"I learned that you can make anything out of anything."

Our questions: "Can you make lassos out of other things?" "How can I improve it?" "How could I have made a better rope?" "How long is a real lasso?" "How are lassos made [tied] with rope?""How do you make a lasso with a hoop that can be both small AND big?"