STEAM-Real World Problems

Last time in STEAM we discussed some 

REAL WORLD PROBLEMS.  

Sometimes accidents happen in our world and environment and we need to know how to fix them.  We talked about a big accident in the summer of 2010 called the 

DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL RIG EXPLOSION

We then leaned what it took to clean the water, plants and animals that were affected by the oil, fire and smoke

STEAM/Real World Problems

June 11, 2018

Click here to see more about this experiment

The activity is about cleaning up the oil in the ocean. 

The materials we will be working with are analogies of what really happens in the real world.  We started by asking the kids what they already know about oil spills.  We included the catastrophic spill of the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.  We also discussed what kinds of engineers help solve the environmental problems caused by oil spills – chemical and environmental engineers.

Each team will need to clean up "oil" from a simulated oil spill disaster that includes feathers to represent marine life. The learning objective is to increase understanding of an oil spill disaster and environmental consequences. This activity is a great Life Sciences challenge that also incorporates engineering and math concepts. Students are given this mission: 

Your engineering company has been tasked with cleaning up a major oil spill disaster. You can only use the provided materials to clean up all the oil from the feathers and from the water. Place all collected oil into provided container.

Real-World Connection

To set-up the challenge, I provided students with the handout below that included pictures from the BP oil spill disater We discussed the effects of an oil spill on marine plants and animals, and the pictures really bring to life the negative consequences of such a disaster. This helps set the context before starting the challenge. 

One of the pages included in Vivify's Oil Spill Challenge product. Click for more information. 

First person to call or email me after reading this blog wins a prize:  847-289-5813 or kanderson@gailborden.info