STEAM
Last time...
RESCUE ME! A
CHALLENGE WITH TWO TEAMS
Scenario:
You are campers in the rainforest. You need
to elevate your food and supplies while you sleep to keep it away from wild
beasts. You can only build the elevation device using the materials in your
camping gear.
Each table gets a bin of
materials- all the same items.
In the Rescue Device Challenge, one-half of
the team builds a cranking mechanism and the other half of the team builds
a food and supplies carrier.
The Cranking Mechanism
The cranking device has to be sturdy enough
to wind up and lift the food carrier.
The Carrier
The other half of the team has to build
something that would attach to the winding mechanism and hold fragile cargo. Don’t make
it too heavy.
WHAT ARE RAINFORESTS?
Tropical
rainforests are forests with tall trees, warm climate, and lots of rain. In
some rainforests it rains more than one inch every day!
Rainforests are found in Africa, Asia, Australia, and Central and South America. The largest rainforest in the world is the Amazon rainforest.
WHERE ARE RAINFORESTS LOCATED?
Rainforests are found in Africa, Asia, Australia, and Central and South America. The largest rainforest in the world is the Amazon rainforest.
WHERE ARE RAINFORESTS LOCATED?
Rainforests
are found in the tropics, the region between the Tropic of Capricorn and Tropic
of Cancer. In this region the sun is very strong and shines about the same
amount of time every day all year long making the climate warm and stable.
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- Brazil
- Congo (Democratic Republic)
- Peru
- Indonesia
- Colombia
- Papua New Guinea
- Venezeula
- Bolivia
- Mexico
- Suriname
WHY ARE RAINFORESTS IMPORTANT?
Rainforests
are important to the global ecosystem. Rainforests:
- provide a home to many plants and animals;
- help stabilize the world's climate;
- protect against flood, drought, and erosion;
- are a source for medicines and foods;
- support tribal people; and
- are an interesting place to visit
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RAINFORESTS HELP STABILIZE CLIMATE
Rainforests help stabilize the world’s climate by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is believed to contribute to climate change through global warming. Therefore rainforests have an important role in addressing global warming.
Rainforests also affect local weather conditions by creating rainfall and moderating temperatures.
