Greenbrier's Civil Engineering Water Filtration Day

This week the Odyssey students at Greenbrier practiced the art of making water filtration systems. They honed their problem solving skills by troubleshooting all the different ways to layer the filters to produce a better purifier. They found it was not easy and that there were many different combinations involved. 

Ashley and Elizabeth making their filters.

The first attempt. While it filtered, the girls quickly realized that the sand in their filtration systems was making the water come out VERY dirty. 

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Alyson and Kevin at their first attempt.

Reid and Kaitlyn at their final try. Filtering the egg shells and raisins was fairly easy. Coffee grinds and pepper not so much.

Emma and Vishnuh figured out using lots of cotton balls would be a good idea; and it was, however, they soon realized cotton balls absorb lots of water! 

Spencer and Eva used an old nylon to help filter their water. These are great filters all by themselves!

Next week we will watch a short video on a nonprofit organization called, "Engineers Without Borders." This organization is dedicated to helping villages in underdeveloped countries design and implement sustainable solutions for clean water, better farming practices, sanitation and much more. Many of the volunteers are college students who give up spring/summer breaks and dedicate their time and talents. What great role models for our Odyssey students...using their academic abilities to make positive changes in the world!  Nice.

Have a wonderful weekend. One good thing about our snow days, Greenbrier didn't miss out on any Odyssey time. Yeah!

Civil Engineering and Clean Water

This week we discussed clean water and how people in less developed countries do not have easy access to the clean water we take for granted.  On Wednesday we explored how water filtration systems work. The students made filtration systems to clean water filled with coffee grinds, egg shells, pepper, raisins, etc. Students were given several different materials to build their filtration systems; sand, clay, coffee filters, cotton balls, sponges, etc. They were required to build a system and then test it. To their surprise, students found filtering water was not an easy thing to do.

Before doing all of this, we read an article from National Geographic called, "Parting The Waters" that tells the story of one woman's daily plight to get clean water for her family. In her village it is always the woman's responsibility to get water. Sometimes this can take up to eight hours a day. An eye opening read for everyone.

How does this connect to engineering? It takes a lot to bring clean water to remote village. Engineers around the world are working with countries to bring their ideas and areas of expertise to help these people live healthier lives. Odyssey students want to make a difference and by exploring the world of engineering, they can discover how this career can help them do just that.

Have great weekend. Stay warm....

Mrs. Kownick

Structural Engineering Activity

Yesterday your child worked on an activity that simulated the day in the life of a structural engineer. They were required to build a structure that could support a hard cover book at least 12 inches above a flat surface for a minimum of 30 seconds using only xerox paper and tape. Sounds easy, right? Not so much! The design and construction had to be completed in 30 minutes. Everyone failed that piece! Each sheet of paper used during construction cost $1,000. Each 1/4 piece of tape cost $100. The winner's structure had to meet the specific criteria as well as be cost effective.

Below are pictures of each team's structure-

Believe it or not, this one passed the test, however, the structure was slanted and cost a lot. Eva and Kevin have an affinity for tape.....

Reid and Katelyn's also passed the test but didn't last too long after the 30 seconds. And it cost a lot.

With more time, Alyson and Vishnu's would have achieved success as well as Spencer and Emma's.

We have several more activities for our engineering unit so stay tuned. There's more to come.

Have a great weekend.