Week 4 · Five subjects · One workshop
The brass animals are failing their opening trials. Diagnose the motion, learn from living bodies, communicate the repair, test the designs, and write the rules for using them responsibly.
The gear calculation starts the repair. Biology improves the form. Technical writing lets a team reproduce it. Engineering proves the tradeoff. Ethics defines how the finished system should operate.
20 minutes
Math · Ratios and mechanical systems
Use gear ratios to connect input speed with output speed.
Make
A gear-ratio diagnosis
Story handoff: Pair A steadies Pip’s stride, but the repaired fox still slips when it turns. The problem is no longer speed alone—the Menagerie copied an animal’s appearance without understanding how bodies move.
20 minutes
Biology · Comparative biomechanics
Connect body structures to movement and habitat without assuming one design fits every animal.
Make
A comparative anatomy memo
Story handoff: The biomechanical memo gives the workshop a better design, but three apprentices interpret the repair differently. A good idea cannot travel through a team if its instructions are vague.
25 minutes
Language arts · Technical communication
Evaluate technical instructions for sequence, precision, audience, and a clear check for success.
Make
A maintenance procedure
Story handoff: Every apprentice now makes the same repair. The rebuilt creatures are ready for a shared habitat trial where speed, stability, energy, and turning space must all be measured together.
25 minutes
Engineering · Constraint testing
Choose a prototype using several constraints instead of one impressive measurement.
Make
A habitat-test recommendation
Story handoff: Reedstep passes the model habitat. The last question is not whether the machines can move—it is how they should behave around visitors, living animals, and each other.
25 minutes
Systems design · Ethics and animal welfare
Design a responsible operating rule with stakeholders, monitoring, and stop conditions.
Make
A Menagerie care charter
Story handoff: The Menagerie opens in small, careful trials. Pip trots, Reedstep wades, living animals keep their refuge, and every keeper knows that a successful design includes the rule for stopping it.
Attempts stay on this device. Finished work stays finished, and the family portfolio shows only evidence the learner actually completed here.
