Description:
Flooding destroys homes and communities every year. Design and build model floating homes, using the principles of sustainable design (Planet, People, Profit). Help students understand the forces that act on structures as well as how engineering and design has had to change in the face of climate change and the need for sustainability.
30-60 minutes for presentation, and 60-90 minutes for hands-on build with materials readily found at home.
Details: This lesson consists of an introduction to engineering and sustainability, and a floating homes design / build / test challenge. It ends with a discussion of the direct and indirect connections to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Materials:
- Student Amphibious House Plan sheet
- Blueprint sheet or blank sheet of paper
- Building material (eg Straws, Paperclips, Scotch tape, Aluminum Foil, Popsicle sticks)
- Lego characters (or something to represent people in the model homes)
- Scissors, Pencils
- Approval stamp
- Large tubs, large enough to float building that fits on 1/2 sheet of paper.
- Brick to support building
- Water
- Towels
Notes: Presentation can be done virtually. Experiment can be done at home with readily-available materials. Remind the students to take care handling any sharp objects (eg. paperclips), and watch out for spilled water (slippages). They should notify a teacher or leader immediately if they have spilled any water.
Lesson Resources: