Up and down the coastline of Baranof and Chichagof Islands we have been amazed at the overwhelming amount of debris that has washed ashore over the past several years from the Japanese Tsunami. That being said I would be interested in creating a project based on this and the concept or concern of radiation that is reportedly following the same path. As for a second STEM idea, a major ongoing local project has been the rebuilding of our dam. This project could possibly offer some engaging actives.
As for a particular STEM topic I would like to explore... I can’t think of anything specific at the moment and feel the majority of lessons that have been presented are thought provoking and move along almost too quickly. The activity links provided were wonderful and I bookmarked those resources for future use.
Although the conversion problems were very intriguing, I didn’t feel good at all about my performance since I wasn’t able to provide any assistance in solving the problems. I would do far better if I had the opportunity to read and play with the problem prior to working with another person or group.
The Minecraft piece was helpful and I like that I am able to create my own world for students to explore. I am uncertain how to get a copy of the Monster Lobe region(s) into my local world and I have several other questions about the Lobe itself, but I will email Colin directly for assistance on that part.
The concept of building some *thing* to deal with the tsunami debris is a great concept to explore. I think that realistically by the time anything was actually constructed in real life it'd be too late to put into practice, but a system that could be deployed quickly and cheaply to any region in the world to deal with future events of this type is a really cool idea. A plain net would catch all sorts of fish (by catch problem). Standard floating booms used for oil spill response may not be sturdy enough in weather conditions to control floating debris. There's no clear answer. I like it.
ReplyDeleteHaving students construct a model of a dam, complete with hydro facility, would be really neat. I just took a trip down to Death Valley with my family, and as part of that we went to the Hoover Dam near Las Vegas. Talk about one of the biggest engineering projects our country has ever undertaken...
I agree - both these current events topics are full of STEM ideas. I tend to start my brainstorming by trying to quantify things. If you're amazed at how much debris there is - try to quantify it. Estimate the amount in different units. Estimate the composition of the debris. Then add in "solutions" for containers for catching the debris or diverting it to a container...
ReplyDeleteThe geometry / shape of the dam is a great engineering question worth exploring. The size of the dam generally depends on the quantity of water you expect to hold back. Thoughts about corrosion would depend on things like the material the dam was built out of and mineral deposits that might be in the water...