Shantytown Construction Redesign

For the teacher’s introductory presentation:

• laptop/tablet, internet access, word processing access, presentation access (e.g., Google Slides, PowerPoint, Prezi)

Note: The following is for a class of 30 working in groups of three students each.

Each group needs:

• 3 pairs of gloves
• 3 Rubbermaid or Sterilite ice cube bins, such as at Walmart
• 3-4 paint sticks, such as a 10-pack at Home Depot (or for free from most stores that sell paint if you say it is for a school project)
• 1 small bucket (3 gallons or less) from hardware store or Amazon 
• 3 dust masks, such as packs of 50 from Amazon
• Making Concrete Blocks Lab (PDF) sheet

For the entire class to share:

For making concrete blocks

• recycled, reused or discarded items; have students bring from home (ideally, collect materials that fall under one of three categories: metals, ceramics, polymers, or composites)
• 10-12 pairs of scissors
• 1-2 hammers
• lab scale or lab balance
• (optional but highly recommended) plastic wrap and masking or painter's tape to protect the balances
• (optional but highly recommended) large tarps and painter's tape to protect the lab area; 6 x 8-foot blue, multipurpose, waterproof Grizzly Tarps work well, from Amazon.
• 2 bags of Sakrete: 94-lb Portland Cement Type I/II Commercial Grade Quickrete, available at hardware stores like Lowe's or Home Depot
• buckets for cement mixing
• cups for scooping out and weighing cement; such as 8 oz. Styrofoam cups
• 6-8 gallons of water (tap water is okay)
• (optional) 1 premade sample to serve as example

For chemical testing

• 3 pairs of goggles
• 1-12 medium test tubes, large test tubes, small beakers or small cups
• • Materials for labeling test tubes and beakers
• up to 12 pipettes
• up to 12 small samples of the chosen substrate
• Chemical Testing Lab (PDF) sheet, 1 per group
• up to 12 beakers/cups for putting classroom samples into
• 10 ml of the following samples:
• • bleach
  • vinegar
  • oil
  • dirty/polluted water
  • dirty/polluted salt water
  • dish soap
  • laundry soap
  • hydrochloric acid (HCl)
  • sodium hydroxide (lye) (NaOH)
  • acetone (CH₃)₂CO (paint thinner or nail polish remover)
  • household drain cleaner

For physical testing

• small crane scale, available at Amazon
• gallon heavy-duty Ziploc bags for drop test
• block crushing machine (see image below); have students make this simple machine possibly with the assistance of an industrial arts or wood shop class; see build instructions on the Block Crusher Design Instructions (PDF) 
• (optional) a few extra bolts for the block crusher; for sizing, refer to the Block Crusher Design Instructions (PDF) extra individual assignments for students to work on while testing is occurring; see the Extra Individual Assignments (PDF) 
• (optional) a premade sample concrete block to use as a control; follow the Making Concrete Blocks Lab (PDF) to build the block

Composite concrete block being tested.CopyrightCopyright 2017 Nick Kaufman et al, Collaborative RET Program, Central State University, University of Dayton, and Wright State UniversityFor concrete block redesign

Reuse most of the items from the Making Concrete Blocks Lab (PDF), but may need additional items such as:

• additional recycled, reused or discarded items that students bring from home (ideally, have the materials fall under one of three categories: metals, ceramics, polymers, or composites)
• 1 pair of gloves per person
• 1 bag Sakrete: 94-lb Portland Cement Type I/II Commercial Grade Quickrete, available at hardware stores like Lowe's or Home Depot
• 3 gallons of water