About

Suits of armour were worn by knights and soldiers for protection in battle during the Middle Ages. There were no guns or cannon at that time. Armies would fight using swords, spears, lances, axes, maces, bows and arrows, crossbows, and large catapults called trebuchets. A suit of armour had to protect the whole body from these weapons without being too heavy, and yet allow the soldier to move freely, or even to ride a horse.
 

Your task

Design a suit of armour for yourself. Your suit of armour should be design to be made of materials that were used in the Middle Ages. Think about how a suit of armour must protect the wearer and still be comfortable. Make your suit of armour out of paper or card and put it on to show it. Work on this project in a small team with a group of your classmates.
​​​​​​​

Follow the design steps

To design something well, do it step-by-step and use the methods from the Design Thinking for Schools website. There are four design steps. The first step is LEARN. To design something, you must first learn about it. There is much to learn on any topic, and it is always interesting. Learning will help you to understand the thing that you are designing, so you can do a good job. The second step is DRAW. Try to think of as many different ideas as you can while you draw them with pencil on paper. Keep drawing until you have some ideas that you really like. Improve your ideas and combine them into a single excellent idea. Drawing is easy and fun. Enjoy it! The third step is MAKE. Make the thing that you are designing to show your teacher and classmates. You can only tell if your idea works by making it. Improve your idea while you are making it. Making something with your hands is fun too! The fourth step is TRY. Once you have made something, you should try it to see if it works or not. You can also let someone else try it to see what they think. When you try, you will often find ways to improve your design idea. That will make you a better designer.
 

​​​​​​​Note for teachers

Read the guide for teachers on Safety for the MAKE Step for Level II to safely supervise this design task.