>> ♪ We've got two days to get this straight ♪ We've got a challenge just won't wait ♪ Our eyes are on the prize ♪ An engineer just set the date ♪ We've got this client can't be late ♪ Oh, no it's go time ♪ Build it, test, fix it debug, nail, kick it ♪ Got to get it off the ground yeah ♪ Stick around and you'll see what teamwork's supposed to mean ♪ It's so key Design Squad ♪ Design Squad.

♪ >> All right, Design Squads, I've got your t-shirts for today.

Are you ready?

>> Yeah.

>> Annelise.

( laughs ) I'm green again!

>> Juan.

>> Yeah, yeah!

>> Lindsey.

>> Yes!

>> Wes.

>> Yeah, purple!

>> Ana.

>> Girls!

( cheers ) >> And Zach.

( cheers ) >> Girls are going down!

>> I see you're all smart enough to have figured out we've got boys versus girls.

( cheers ) So are you ready for the challenge?

>> Yeah!

>> Now we are!

>> Roll the tape.

>> Oh!

>> Hi, I'm Lindsay Whalen... >> And I'm Tamika Raymond... >> And we play for the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA.

( cheers ) >> Oh, nice!

>> Yeah!

>> When you come to a Connecticut Sun game, you see some of the best basketball players in the world and loads of action.

( cheers ) >> But that's not the only thing fans get to see when they come to our home games.

They get to be a part of the whole game atmosphere.

>> We have lots of end-game activities.

One of our most popular is our t-shirt giveaway.

But here's the problem: right now, we have our dance team throwing the t-shirts to the fans from the sidelines.

>> Whew!

That is tough, man!

You all right?

>> I don't know.

>> We need a little help.

>> Here's where you come in, Design Squads.

We want you to build us a great t-shirt shooter.

>> Yeah!

>> You can make it any way you want, as long as it's safe... >> ...and it has to be able to reach up here in the upper deck!

( laughter ) >> The winning t-shirt shooter will be announced live and used at our next home game.

>> Good luck, Design Squads-- and don't blow it!

( cheers and applause ) >> Are there any questions?

>> So what's the actual height?

>> The actual height?

You're looking at probably about a four... between a 40 and 60 foot arc to get it all the way up to the second deck.

Anything else?

>> No.

>> Start brainstorming!

>> Let's go!

>> Whoo!

( laughter ) >> Testosterone!

>> Let's start brainstorming right away.

>> Like, let's put, like, all the ideas we have on here.

>> So... t-shirt shooter.

So what are some other ways we can... How about pneumatics?

Because I mean, air compression's a really good idea.

Like, I like air compression.

>> And here's how compressed air can launch a t-shirt.

When air molecules are pushed into a cylinder, they collide.

Adding more air molecules in the cylinder means they have less space to move so they collide more often, building pressure in pounds per square inch, or psi.

When this compressed air is released into a second cylinder with lower air pressure, the difference in pressure creates a force that shoots the t-shirt into the air.

>> Well, I was thinking the cannon, but if we use, like, pressurizing gas, that might get a little bit more dangerous.

>> And it's too complicated.

>> The most basic thing we can do is a slingshot.

>> And then there's always, I mean, a slingshot.

>> Hmm.

>> I mean that... if you have a really strong rubber band, you just pull it back and just shoot.

Like, that's the simplest.

>> Yeah.

>> Keeping it simple might be the best route.

>> Yeah.

So we need to finalize the slingshot.

>> We have to take into account how are we going to fold the shirts... >> Right... >> So you can have them, like, be super aerodynamic in a ball... >> Like a circle or something.

>> ...with, like, a rubber band or something, and then you have to worry a little bit about someone getting pegged in the face with it.

>> We need a test.

>> We need a test, it's true.

( laughter ) >> Let's go throw it at them.

>> Let's go!

>> Guys, we need to know how much this hurts.

>> How much does it hurt, from one to ten?

>> Four.

>> Four?

>> Yeah, no, that... that hurts a lot.

>> So... all right, thank you.

>> Thank you.

>> When I heard "girls versus boys," I was like, "sweet," because girls belong in the kitchen.

No, I'm just kidding!

I'm just kidding.

>> It's my comfort zone, working with girls.

I know working with Zach... sometimes doesn't like to talk about his feelings.

( laughter ) The biggest difference would be, like, the nice, positive attitude.

>> So right now, we're leaning towards the slingshot, right?

What if we just draw out a bunch of alternative designs so we can look and evaluate them a little bit more?

One way, having it really simple where people are just holding it, you can...

I mean, if you make it easy to hold... >> They can just make it moveable.

Like, they'll just walk around and... >> ...as opposed to building a structure that could break, could tip.

>> I'd just love to play with this stuff and see what works.

Ah!

>> That was good!

>> Ah!

>> Let's just switch to that.

I like it better.

>> The thing about a slingshot is that, like, somebody there has to be, like, pulling it and letting go, instead of just like, you know, like, pressing a button and stuff.

>> Yeah.

>> See, we can get compression tanks.

I don't know if we want to use them.

>> Dudes!

>> What's up?

What you going to make?

>> We're starting to talk about air compression.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> We're trying to figure out air compression.

Like, what I thought of is having two chambers.

One, a storage chamber... not that big... >> What?

A what chamber?

>> A storage chamber.

>> Uh-huh.

>> In there, compressed air.

Another one-- you know, they're both sealed off-- another, a smaller chamber, and that chamber's used... it has the compressed air in it, and each shot uses that... you know, utilizes that air in the smaller chamber.

>> That's very clever.

Yeah, that could work nicely.

Have you guys drawn a picture of what it's going to be like, yet?

>> No.

>> Not really.

>> You've got to have, you know, nicely bonded joints and safety valves-- I don't know, a safety trigger.

All sort of things.

So keep that in mind as you're designing.

>> I get what you're saying.

>> We need to figure out, like, how we're going to make sort of like a cradle to hold it up.

>> Well, what if you just make it out of something that doesn't stretch?

Hook, then cut it and use this chunk right here.

>> We made it as a group, so that's good.

Let's try it outside.

>> Okay.

>> Whoo-hoo!

So we want to try and shoot it over the roof.

>> Ready?

Ah, wait!

That was because it was badly folded.

>> Well, I almost fell over... >> So it's not working.

>> Maybe we should try one more time.

>> Spin, spin.

( cheers ) ( laughter ) ( cheers ) >> The long arrow, which will actually encompass this whole thing.

Now, so here's, like, a little valve , like a little push button valve.

Press this down, this opens, air rushes in, and there's compressed air in there.

And then there'll be another push button thing, which is the... the actual trigger, so that, you know, dance team girl pushes this down, this opens suddenly, and a t-shirt which is in here-- pooh, bam-- goes out.

>> Looks good.

>> It looks good.

>> Oh, do you have it?

Okay, cool.

>> Wait, the hose attaches to this part, right?

>> I'm... yeah.

>> Okay, so I'm thinking that if this got a little above 20 feet, then we need something, like, even twice as long, or... >> One and a half.

>> Twice as long and twice as strong.

>> Ladies, how's it going?

>> Hello.

>> Good, it's going well.

>> Build some slingshots?

>> We need something that will shoot it farther, so we doubled the length of our slingshots.

>> And it's also a lot easier for the two people holding it.

>> Right, so you've got a moderate amount of force pushing on the t-shirt for a long distance, so you're getting all that energy in but without having to work as hard.

Nice.

>> We made it.

>> Like that sound?

>> That's definitely a good 40.

>> That was a great noise.

You guys are iterating pretty fast.

You're going from one thing to the next, and you're actually making stuff.

>> That's because we're girls!

>> Ladies.

>> Fine, ladies, I'm going to get out of your way and let you make stuff.

>> Yeah.

>> So get rocking.

>> The estrogen's too much for him.

( laughter ) >> Oh, man.

>> All right, so we have... this is... this is going to be the storage tank.

It's going to go on back.

We have this connection here that we're going to use to fill up the storage tank with air, and on the end... other end of this hose we have this valve.

>> Connect here.

>> All right.

And we have this reducer that's going to go with the screen valve, which goes to the barrel.

That's pretty much it.

All right, so I'll cement the storage tank.

You... Zach, do you want to start cementing this?

>> Yeah.

>> We have about an hour.

Let's split up.

>> I'm going to do the balls with the streamers.

The streamers would be good, because they make the ball go slower so that it's not dangerous for the viewers, but it will also make it look like fire.

Oh, you like that!

You like that!

>> That looks pretty cool.

>> Look what I found.

>> Yeah!

>> Basketball!

>> Good bye, ball.

Yes!

Coming at you!

>> Ready?

>> You need a... you got it?

>> This is pretty heavy, man.

>> Wait, we need to fill it up with air before we go outside.

>> Do you know if that valve is open?

>> That's open.

>> Do it on 30.

>> You want me to put in on 30?

>> Yeah, that's good.

>> That is 30 right there.

>> Let's go on the steps and shoot it over the roof.

>> Over the roof?

>> Yeah.

Hide it so it will go over you.

>> Three... >> Three... two... one!

( laughter ) >> Well, at least it shoots.

>> Because it's definitely... it's definitely accurate enough.

>> We only have 30 psi in right now.

>> Nice guys, that was friggin' sweet.

>> Yeah, that was good.

>> We've done a lot today.

>> Day two, ladies!

>> Welcome to Day Two.

You guys want to do some more testing?

>> Yeah.

>> I mean, yesterday, we tested at, what, 30 psi?

>> Yeah Why don't we tested at a higher... >> Sure.

>> You guys want 90?

>> Give me 90.

>> 90 is right there.

>> I'm going to load it.

Ready?

Okay, it's loaded.

>> All right.

>> You guys ready?

>> Yeah.

>> Yup.

>> All right.

>> Three... two... one!

Wow!

>> Oh, my God.

>> Did you guys see that?

>> Wow.

>> That was pretty cool.

>> Yeah.

>> Let's do it again.

>> You guys want to try it?

>> I want to try.

>> That was a little bit shorter, but, you know, who cares?

I mean, it still went a pretty good amount.

Let's go back in.

>> All right, guys, so we... this all.

It's complete.

>> We got it all done yesterday.

>> Yeah, this is almost done.

>> So... >> Deployment of t-shirts... >> Yes.

>> ...what do you suggest?

>> I say... the t-shirt has a parachute.

It's floating over to this happy fellow over here.

>> Okay.

>> If someone else fixes this up.

I think you were going to finish the handles?

>> Yeah, I can fix...

I'll finish this 100%.

>> And then you can work on the fire balls?

>> All right.

>> Yeah, we should figure out how to make them look better and see maybe if there's some stuff that we can add to make it a little bit more jazzy than it is right now.

>> Yeah.

>> And maybe look at not using tape.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> It's ugly!

>> Sounds like a plan.

>> I'm going to try using the t-shirt as a parachute.

>> Yeah, what do you guys think about the velocity, though?

Like...

I kind of felt like it was safe, like... >> I kind of thought it was safe too.

>> What might be safe for you might not be safe for them.

>> What do you guys think we can add to it to slow down the velocity?

>> So we need something that starts off like a pellet, but as soon as it reaches the top or somewhere close to that, it opens up.

>> When the t-shirt came out of the barrel, it came out and started tumbling slowly, right?

>> Mm-hmm.

>> What if we made something-- I don't know-- like a cap or something to catch the little flap here, that's tied on, like, loosely or something?

>> Oh, catch, okay.

I see what you're saying.

>> You guys want to try that idea?

>> Yeah, do you want me to go and do that?

>> All right, I'm going to grab some foam; we'll play around.

>> Want to take another break?

>> Give me a couple minutes.

>> Hey, you guys?

I'll bet you can't hit me from down there!

>> What are you doing there?

>> What are you up there for, dude?

>> I'm where the upper deck is, and the court is right there, so see if you can hit me.

>> Okay.

>> Okay, I'm game.

>> What are you calling that?

>> This is Wes' head.

( laughter ) >> All right, ready?

>> Okay.

>> Three... two... one!

Oh!

>> Yeah.

>> That was like the upper deck, but not.

Hey, was that a foam parachute?

>> Yeah.

>> The thing shot straight through.

>> Yeah, we got to work on our R and D a little bit.

Thanks, Nate.

>> So... if... >> Ready?

>> Yeah, I'm ready.

>> Argh!

>> These are just t-shirts wrapped in streamers, and the idea is the streamers would unwrap and the t-shirt would fall.

And this is a t-shirt attached to another t-shirt.

This one would act as a parachute, this one acts as a lead.

So we can test them right now, and then make things better.

So guys, we'll do parachutes first?

>> Good, let's go for that.

>> Three... two... one!

( cheers and applause ) >> That looked good!

So this is the t-shirt with streamers.

>> Yeah.

>> One!

>> It didn't unwrap itself as it went.

>> We won't wrap it around as much; we'll just go once, and then tuck all these underneath.

( cheers ) >> Adding streamers really helps to reduce the velocity of the t-shirt.

Here's what's happening: when the t-shirt travels through the air, it collides with air molecules, creating a friction force.

This air resistance, or drag, slows down the t-shirt.

When air passes over the t-shirt with streamers, the streamers flap and collide with the greater number of air molecules.

This increases the drag and slows down the t-shirt even more.

>> Yay!

( laughter ) >> Annelise, you got this?

>> Yup.

All right.

>> Yeah!

>> Oh, my God, that was amazing.

>> So guys, we have to decide which ones we want.

>> Okay, I say parachute.

>> Yeah, the parachute thing is amazing.

>> That can definitely go for the middle and front areas.

That will minimize the velocity, and it won't hit them.

>> Right, because it can't reach the top with that.

>> Then the roll streamers, wrap that up and that could go... >> ...all the way to the top.

>> ...all the way to the upper deck.

>> All right, I like that.

>> So let's get a prototype of that, so we can test and make sure it will get as far as it can.

>> I can make them.

>> Woo-hoo!

>> Okay, so what can we make that shoots this little t-shirt up and opens up in this area-- the projectile?

>> We could wrap something around.

It actually tumbles, so as it tumbles, it'll unleash, like, a streamer, so when it gets to the top and it's tumbling...

I mean, ideally, it'd be fully unraveled, and then it'll stream down.

>> It might work.

Yeah, good idea.

>> Pop a streamer right here.

>> We can go test that.

>> Why don't we try and tie... >> ...the streamers around sideways.

>> Yeah, yeah.

Exactly.

>> Ready?

>> Yeah.

>> Three... two... one.

>> Oh, man, yeah.

>> Oh, wow, that was perfect!

>> It waited a little bit longer and then it deployed, and it...

I mean, it landed definitely with a slower descent, so... >> What next?

>> Do you guys want to try shooting two at once?

>> All right, let's do it.

Three... two... one.

Oh!

Yeah!

That was nice, that was hustle!

>> Did you see that?

>> Did you see the recoil?

>> Oh, yeah, I know.

>> Look at the difference in... >> Yeah, man, all right.

>> You guys want to try four?

>> For the first time in history-- four t-shirts in one shooting!

>> Three... two.. one!

( car alarm screeching ) >> Look at it.

>> Whoo!

Wow!

All right.

>> We got four to the Dumpster.

You know, Americans... they love to see theatrics.

"Oh, it's a gun!

It's shooting t-shirts at me!"

That's way cooler than a slingshot.

I mean, a slingshot so 1940s, so... >> I'd say the slingshot is not really a drawback because it's a three-personed operating system.

Maybe like, three girls can incorporate that into their choreography.

I think it has a more entertainment value to it.

>> The fact that we have a multiple-shot cannon, it gives us a huge advantage.

There's no way that their slingshot can even compare to that.

There's just no way, so that is a huge advantage over them.

>> Come on, give a spin!

>> Whoo!

Whoo!

>> Yeah!

>> Let's go fire these things.

>> We're ready for another test!

>> Let's do it.

This is like, the parachutes are going to be on the lower deck?

>> Yeah.

>> Okay.

>> Three... two... one!

>> That was cool!

A little more height, maybe?

>> We need to see if we can get it as high as that scaffolding.

>> Yeah, right there.

>> Hold it up there with all your strength, and Ana's got to pull back really hard.

>> One... two... >> Stretch it, ladies!

Yeah!

That's what I'm talking about!

Nice shot!

That was it!

>> Yo, dude, what's going on?

>> Okay, check it out, man.

I figured out a way to put on this tank of air like a regular backpack.

What I'm going to do is I'm going to tie this around, put the bolt in, tighten it, and it'll stay there.

I'll do the same thing with this side and the top.

>> But, I mean, what you could do is like, put foam around it just to make it softer on the back.

>> We're kind of... we're kind of low on time, dude.

>> I wouldn't want this rubbing against my back, you know, for a couple hours or an hour, or whatever it is.

>> If you want to go do that, bro, but right now, don't you have some t-shirts to wrap up?

>> Dude, I, like, came here just to talk to you about this, so forget you.

>> Cool.

Man, these people!

>> Tuck me in, baby!

>> Oh, very nice!

>> I mean, it forms around my body, though.

>> Are we going to spray paint it?

>> Yeah, we're going to spray paint it.

>> Cool.

>> Okay.

>> Check it out.

>> So are you guys ready to wrap it up?

>> Yeah, definitely.

>> Nice job.

>> We did it.

>> Ain't no way a slingshot's going to beat a gun.

>> They can't hustle this muscle.

>> Welcome to the home of the Connecticut Sun, guys.

Right this way.

Come on, come on, come on.

Not much time.

All right.

Design Squads, meet Tamika and Lindsay.

>> Hi.

>> Hi, everybody.

>> You guys ready to go?

>> Yeah, definitely.

>> Let's do this.

Green Team, you're up first.

Give her the rundown.

>> All right, you guys ready?

>> Yup.

>> Yup.

>> All right, so for our project, we built you a super slingshot.

>> Okay.

>> It's safe and easy to use, and built out of the outside of a basketball.

>> Nice.

>> It launches two different types of t-shirts.

One has flames on it and it's built to go to the upper deck, and the other one is a self-deploying parachute that goes to the lower deck.

And in order to launch this, we need three people, and we were wondering if you guys would like to help us out so we can show it.

>> Sure, yeah.

>> All right, so we've got a handle for each of you.

>> We're just like this, right?

>> Yes.

>> Yup, just like that.

>> Just like that.

>> Okay, are you guys ready?

>> Three... two... one.

>> Whoo!

>> Nice!

>> And she's on the floor!

>> You guys want to see the parachute?

>> Yeah.

>> All right.

>> It actually launches two t-shirts at once.

>> Okay, pull it down.

>> Three... two... one!

>> Aw!

>> All right, nice work, Green Team.

You ladies ready to see the purple?

>> Yup.

>> If you will, gentlemen.

>> The gold gun!

>> What we have here is a traditional t-shirt launcher, and what we can do is we can actually fire four at once.

And one of the benefits of this it's really portable.

You only need one person to actually use it-- not three-- and it's entertaining for all the crowd.

So it's definitely... it's loud, so it's nice.

So you guys want to see it work?

>> Sure.

>> Yeah.

>> All right, let's see.

>> All right.

>> Okay, here we go.

>> Three... two... one!

>> Whoo!

>> Wow!

>> Yeah!

>> Pretty solid.

( laughter ) >> Jeez!

>> Check that out-- three different people got t-shirts that time.

>> Good job, Purple Team.

All right, Tamika, Lindsay, you guys seen enough?

>> Yeah.

>> Let's go huddle up and judge the teams.

What did you think?

>> Well, I thought the first group, with the slingshot, I though that was pretty cool.

I just don't know how... you know, you really have to get back.

You need probably two people my height to really... but I liked the basketball theme and the fact they can parachute and get it to two different people.

That was pretty cool.

>> You know, the gun, too, as it come out, and then you kind of... you know, the fans will see that and you know you're going to get lots of attention, you know, focused on that, and I think it's just going to really get a lot of energy in the building, so I don't know.

It's a tough decision, though.

It's going to be a, you know, tough one to make.

>> What do you guys say we hold that thought and announce the winner live during the game?

>> Oh, yeah.

>> Yeah.

Feel a little pressure on them.

>> All right.

( laughter ) ( cheers and applause ) >> It's game time.

Let's do this.

>> Can you hear that in there?

>> I really like the t-shirt shooter.

It's exciting, it's flashy, I mean, the barrel's gold.

Can't beat that.

I am pretty confident.

>> I was pretty happy about our design.

If it's for, like, creativity, like, I know we've got this.

( cheers and applause ) ( cheers and applause ) ( buzzer blaring ) >> Ladies and gentlemen, let's please give a big Connecticut Sun welcome to the cast of the PBS engineering reality show Design Squad!

( cheers and applause ) >> The Connecticut Sun needed a way to shoot t-shirts to the fans in the upper deck, so we asked Design Squad to build us a t-shirt shooter.

Without further ado, the winner of the Design Squad t-shirt shooter challenge is... the Purple Team!

( cheers and applause ) >> Three... two.. one!

( cheers and applause ) >> Yeah!

>> Yay!

>> Yeah, yeah, yeah!

>> A win for purple means Wes is blowing away the competition with 400 points.

>> Hey, Lindsey, there's so much more action on our Web site.

>> Yeah, behind-the-scenes stuff like our blogs.

>> Not to mention you can watch full episodes.

>> Play games and build cool projects.

>> Awesome.

Let's go to pbskidsgo.org.

Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH