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Day 3: LEGO ATC — Build the Airport

Lesson Overview
Time 50 minutes
Objectives Apply Engineering Design Process phases 1-2 (Define & Ideate) by building a LEGO airport with at least 2 runways, taxiways, a control tower, and parking; plan the spatial layout with safe distances between runways
TEKS d(1)(C)
Deliverable Built LEGO airport (1 per team) ready for Day 4 simulation, plus a labeled paper sketch of the layout
Materials LEGO bricks and baseplates (1 set per team of 3-4 students), printed Airport Layout sketch page, printed ATC scenario cards (1 per team to read for context only, not yet running), projector for LEGO airport reference images

Warm-Up (5 min)

WARM-UP: Air traffic controllers manage dozens of planes at once and make split-second decisions. What skills do you think that requires? List 3.

Take 3-4 student responses. Common answers: focus, communication, fast thinking, math, calmness. Bridge: today we are not yet running the simulation. We are first building the airport. Real ATCs cannot do their job if the airport is laid out poorly. Spatial planning IS the engineering challenge.

Activity 1: The Challenge + Engineering Design Process (8 min)

Source: Engineering Design Process applied to spatial design

Announce the challenge clearly so teams understand the constraints:

The Challenge: In teams of 3-4, build a LEGO airport that can handle at least 4 simultaneous aircraft on Day 4. Your airport must include:

  • At least 2 runways with safe spacing (minimum 6 LEGO studs apart)
  • Taxiways connecting every runway to a terminal/parking area
  • A control tower with a clear sightline to all runways
  • Designated parking areas (gates) for at least 4 planes
  • Clear color-coded paths (use one color brick line per runway)

Introduce the EDP and tell students today covers Phases 1 and 2 only:

  1. Define the Problem: What does our airport need to handle? (4 simultaneous aircraft, safe spacing.)
  2. Research & Ideate: Look at real airport layouts. How do they avoid collisions?
  3. Prototype: Build it.
  4. Test: Run the simulation (Day 4).
  5. Redesign: Fix what failed.

Today's goal: complete Phases 1 and 2 (define + ideate + sketch + start build).

Facilitation Tip

Do not distribute LEGOs immediately. Distribute the sketch pages first and require teams to draw their layout BEFORE touching bricks. Teams that get LEGOs first will spend the entire period building random shapes with no plan.

Activity 2: Research + Sketch (12 min)

Project images of real airports for reference: DFW Airport (the closest), Love Field (smaller), Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta (largest). Students notice the patterns:

  • Runways are usually parallel or in an X shape
  • Taxiways run parallel to runways and connect to the terminal
  • Control towers are positioned where they can see every runway
  • Gates are clustered at the terminal, not scattered

Each team sketches their airport on the printed Airport Layout sketch page. The sketch must include:

  • Top-down view of the airport
  • Labels for runways (R1, R2), taxiways (T-Alpha, T-Bravo), control tower, and gate areas
  • Spacing measurements in LEGO studs
  • Compass directions so the simulation can use "north runway" / "south runway" terminology

Teams swap sketches with another team for a 2-minute peer critique: "Where would two planes most likely collide?" Then teams revise based on feedback.

Activity 3: Build the LEGO Airport (22 min)

Teams pick up their LEGO bricks and baseplates. They build their airport based on the approved sketch. The teacher walks the room with the spatial reasoning checklist:

Check Yes / No
Is there minimum 6-stud spacing between runways?
Are taxiways connected to BOTH runways AND the gate area?
Can the control tower see all runways? (Stand a brick on the tower position and check sightlines)
Are there at least 4 designated gate spaces?
Are runways color-coded (one solid brick line per runway)?

Teams that finish the build early read their assigned ATC scenario card for tomorrow but do NOT yet run it.

Facilitation Tip

Approve each team's airport before they leave class. If a team built a single runway with no taxiway, prompt them: "How will Plane 2 get from gate to runway without crossing Plane 1's path?" Let them engineer their own realization rather than redesigning for them.

DOK 2: How would you describe the spatial reasoning decisions your team made about runway placement? Why does spacing matter for safety in real airports?

Exit Ticket (3 min)

EXIT TICKET (Short Constructed Response) · Printable PDF:

  1. TWO spatial reasoning skills I used during today's LEGO build:

Skill 1: _____

Skill 2: _____

  1. For EACH skill, give ONE specific example of how a real Air Traffic Controller uses that exact skill every day at a busy airport like DFW:

Skill 1 → ATC use: ____________

Skill 2 → ATC use: ____________

  1. The ONE thing my team's airport still NEEDS to fix before running the Day 4 simulation:

(d(1)(C))

Differentiation

  • Support: Pre-built starter base, one runway and one taxiway already laid out. Teams add the second runway, control tower, and gates from there. Provide a printed reference image of a small regional airport for inspiration.
  • Extension: Add a second control tower and design a hand-off procedure between ground control and tower control. Or build a third runway crossing the first two and figure out how to schedule simultaneous takeoffs.
  • ELL: LEGO building is hands-on and naturally accessible. Provide a bilingual sketch label sheet. Runway = Pista, Taxiway = Calle de rodaje, Control Tower = Torre de control, Gate = Puerta, Terminal = Terminal.