Eighth grade students have been taking part in a six-week-long STEM project in Science class where they collaborate in teams to design sustainable, energy-efficient buildings. Each team has a $20 million budget and must decide on the best ways to meet the desired goals of the potential building owner. Along the way, they perform a variety of experiments to learn about renewable resources and sustainable construction practices. The experiments include exploring the benefits of a green roof system, studying how wind flows around buildings of various shapes, measuring how sunlight reflects off various buildings and onto the surrounding highways, testing how the position of a solar panel affects its ability to generate electricity, and investigating how blade angle affects the efficiency of a wind turbine. Once the design process and exploration are completed, students will create deliverable items to showcase their building designs. These items include a blueprint, a scale model, a site plan of the property, and a breakdown of energy and water costs and savings. Each team will use these items to "pitch" their designs to a panel of real engineers who will join us as judges. In the end, one design team will be chosen by the engineers as the winning company.
8th Grade Science Project Underway
March 30, 2022