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Year 6 Systems and control: sensor alarms worksheet

“Build a gallery prototype” is free to print, with no account. It is the first sheet in the Year 6 design and technology unit “Systems and control: sensor alarms”, for children aged 10 to 11, and takes about 24 minutes.

Print it on A4. The child's pages come first; the answers, and what each wrong answer tells you, are on the grown-up page that follows. Weeks 9 to 16 of the year, 8 sheets in the unit.

Free sample · answers on the last page

Build a gallery prototype

Name: ____________ · Date: ____________
Year 6 · Design & technology · about 24 minutes
Answers are on the grown-up page

Today I can plan a prototype gallery that is easy to move around and safe.

A Look back3 min

  1. 1.

    In a lever, which point does the bar turn on? Circle one.

    pivot
    pivotpulleyspringswitch
  2. 2.

    On a pulley wheel, the rope sits in a ___ around the edge. Circle one.

    pull
    groovehingepivotswitch
  3. 3.

    A gallery wall must stand up on its own. Which material is stiff enough? Circle one.

    thick cardtissue papercling film

B Watch me, then you4 min

A small gallery has an entrance, two display cases and an open space. Read the plan, then answer.

Watch me
12341234N

The shop symbol is the entrance, at the bottom left.

House symbols are display cases. The park is an open space.

The open space is close to a case, so a crowd can stand and look.

Now you
  1. 1.

    A visitor in a wheelchair reaches the gallery entrance, which has two steps. Which feature helps them get in? Circle one.

    rampdisplay casebenchposter

C Your turn8 min

Answer each question about building and planning your shoebox gallery.

  1. 1.

    Your shoebox prototype has a wall that may need moving later. Which join? Circle one.

    masking tapePVA gluewet paint
  2. 2.

    Which material is cheap, easy to cut and good for a shoebox prototype? Circle one.

    cardthick steel sheetstone blockglass pane
  3. 3.

    Sort these cards: good for a prototype, or not good for a prototype?

    cardstone blocklolly sticksthick steel sheet
    Good for a prototypeNot good for a prototype
  4. 4.

    A pushchair needs to turn round in the gallery. Which space helps most? Circle one.

    a wide open spacea narrow corridor with a sharp corner

Say it out loud: Which of your answers would make the gallery safest and easiest to move around? Why?

D Spot the mistake3 min

Sam says: “Museum galleries are not organised in any order, so artefacts can go anywhere.”
Stone AgeRomansVikingsTudors
  1. 1.

    Sam is wrong. Circle the reason why.

    Galleries group objects by theme or timeGalleries put objects wherever there is spaceGalleries hide their oldest objects

E Think deeper4 min

A school group is visiting your gallery. Some visitors use wheelchairs and some groups will be large.

  1. 1.

    Design your prototype gallery. Write an access choice and a crowd choice, and explain each in one sentence.

How did it feel?

Did planning the route feel easy or tricky? What would you change on your next prototype?

I can do it Nearly Not yet
StudyDen · Year 6 · Design & technology · Systems and control: sensor alarmsAnswers are on the grown-up page

For the grown-up

Build a gallery prototype · 2 minutes to read

Answers, and what a wrong one tells you

A

1. pivot your child may have picked the spring or the switch. Ask: where does the bar balance and turn? Point to the pivot in the picture.

2. groove A hinge or pivot is a turning point, not the channel the rope sits in. Ask your child to trace the rope round the wheel.

3. thick card Tissue paper and cling film bend and flop. Ask your child which one would stand up straight inside a shoebox.

B

1. ramp A display case holds artefacts but does not help movement. Ask your child which feature lets a wheel roll up a slope.

C

1. masking tape PVA glue sets hard and is hard to undo. Ask your child which tape holds card in place but can be peeled off.

2. card

3. Good for a prototype: card, lolly sticks · Not good for a prototype: stone block, thick steel sheet

4. a wide open space

D

1. Galleries group objects by theme or time your child may think galleries are random. Point to the periods on the chain in time order. Ask why a museum might put all its Roman objects in one room.

E

1. Look for: Names one access feature such as a ramp, lift or wide path, and one crowd feature such as a one-way route or open space, with a reason for each.

Words to use

Say“Show me where a wheelchair user would go in your plan. Does the route reach every case?”
Instead of“That looks lovely, well done. (Then moving on without checking the route.)”

After the sheet

Build a shoebox gallery with card and masking tape, adding two folded card artefacts. Your grown-up does any cutting with sharp tools. Then push a toy car round the route to test access.

Tick what your child got right in StudyDen. Anything missed comes back in a later Look back box, so there's no need to redo the sheet.

The rest of this unit

7 more sheets come with a StudyDen plan, in teaching order:

  1. Museum gallery artefacts(with a plan)
  2. Push-to-make switches(with a plan)
  3. Extending the micro:bit(with a plan)
  4. Choosing Alarm Parts(with a plan)
  5. Finding the Alarm Fault(with a plan)
  6. Wiring a safe alarm(with a plan)
  7. Presenting your museum alarm(with a plan)

Every Year 6 design and technology worksheet

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