COMMACK SCHOOLS

Sawmill fourth graders continued to show their engineering ingenuity during a Hocus Pocus-themed project while visiting enrichment teacher Lindsey Persichilli on Wednesday.

The students were tasked with using a wide array of household items — including small paper cups, index cards and craft sticks — to construct a transport system for a Sanderson Sister to fly down a zip wire within a prescribed time range.

In groups of three, the students brainstormed ideas, then sketched their designs, then tested their concepts and made revisions.

They overcame obstacles such as friction causing the witch to stall on the zip wire. They also learned how weight affected velocity during the downward path.