The engineering question would be how to create a tool to throw (or roll) the ball farther. Students would test initial throws (or rolls) Then they would be tasked with planning an investigation - creating criteria and constraints (if in grade 5). Students would then be introduced to the news article about the birdstone found in Door County. They would read the wikipedia article about the theories of birdstones, look at a map of where birdstones were said to be found and the tribes that were present. Then students would design an investigation to test how the atlatl worked (the science of energy quantities and transference of energy - depending on the grade) using pictures and art from history and the present. They create an atlatl-type tool and test it against their original throws or rolls. They look at two extensions of the atlatl, one a game that the cherokee played using the atlatl as a symbol and another from modern times, the chuckit. They then discuss whether attributions of the chuckit should be given to the first nations who actually invented the idea. (Criticality)

This course introduces fundamental properties of the neutron. It covers reactions induced by neutrons, nuclear fission, slowing down of neutrons in infinite media, diffusion theory, the few-group approximation, point kinetics, and fission-product poisoning. It emphasizes the nuclear physics bases of reactor design and its relationship to reactor engineering problems.

Introduction to reactor dynamics including subcritical multiplication, critical operation in absence of thermal feedback effects and effects of Xenon, fuel and moderator temperature, etc. Derivation of point kinetics and dynamic period equations. Techniques for reactor control including signal validation, supervisory algorithms, model-based trajectory tracking, and rule-based control. Overview of light-water reactor startup. Lectures and demonstrations with computer simulation and the use of the MIT Research Reactor.