The Water Around Us
In this engineering design activity, students build models of natural sources of water. As they move through the design process, students differentiate between natural sources of water (such as rivers or lakes) and human-made sources of water, such as reservoirs or canals. Students learn how engineers can study natural sources of water to create better water delivery systems that benefit society.
Students design natural water models as sources of drinking waterCopyright 2020 Frank Serna, Rice University RET
Engineers use their knowledge of natural water sources and the engineering design process to design and create structures for societal benefit. Providing water to a community might require the shifting of natural water patterns to accommodate for high and low water source fluctuations. Using models enables engineers to increase efficiency of their designs, so they can make water available for a variety of uses based on human needs, from irrigation in rural areas to plumbing and sewer systems in residential communities.
After this activity, students should be able to:
- Identify and compare freshwater and saltwater characteristics.
- Identify and compare freshwater and saltwater sources.
- Distinguish different water sources (natural versus human-made).
- Apply some steps of the engineering design process.