Activity (Hands-On)Grades 2 - 4
Inundation Inspiration
Students employ the engineering design process to create a device that uses water-absorbing crystals for use during a flood or storm surge. Students first spend time making notes on a teacher-led observation of how water-absorbing crystals. Later, they use (or build) a toy house, follow the engineering design process to build their device, and subject the house to tests that mimic a heavy flood or rising tides. After testing, students can iterate on their designs or reflect on what they learned.
In this design, the students developed a structure designed to affix to both windows of the home. The structure is made with pipe cleaners, tape, and water absorbing crystals.Copyright 2019 Mackenzie McNickle, University of Florida MRET