As Earth Day fell on a weekend this year, I asked the teacher I usually work with on Fridays if an Earth Day STEM activity would fit in to anything they were doing. She told me they were actually studying animal adaptations, so it fit in well with what they were learning. I found this video that we watched about kids taking action against pollution found in the oceans. The video was very powerful and the students definitely had thoughts to share on the issue!
After watching the video and having a discussion about how pollution in the oceans has a domino effect on plants, animals, and humans, we asked the students to think about how they could come up with a solution that would help the pollution in the oceans. We gave each group of three students a tub with Brain Flakes, wooden planks, and Plus Plus and asked them to think of a way to develop a "thing" that could help solve this problem.
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- Utilizing large shipping boats and connecting nets or other containers around the outside of the boat to gather trash as they were traveling. When they reached their destination, they could unload their cargo and trash for recycling.
- Attach nets or containers to buoys that are already placed out in the water to collect trash that is close to the shorelines.
- Create floating containers that can collect trash, but also have a open/close flap so that fish do not get caught inside.
- Use amphibious vehicles that give tours to people so that you can pick up trash as you tour and show much trash you have collected during a tour that can then be recycled.
- Have floating containers that are connected with rope so you can easily pull them in like a fishing pole and anyone could empty the trash into recycling containers and then return the containers to the land.
Student Example #1 |
Student Example #2 |