STEM Challenge - Project: Save the Oceans - Design a Device to Clean the Oceans

Looking for a flexible, multi-day activity that gets your students “doing science?” Every STEM Challenge offers a hands-on, inquiry-based, student-led project designed to allow them to step into the roles of researchers and engineers.

STEM Challenge projects are ideal for use at any time throughout the school year, between units, before breaks, or during afternoons when testing weeks occur.

For teachers, there are presentations and step-by-step guides to facilitate pacing and lesson plans that align with standards. Students utilize the included notebooks to guide them through activities (both individually and in small groups), challenge them to learn new information, and reflect on and apply the information they have learned.

The Challenge:

The numbers are staggering: There are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the ocean. Of that mass, 269,000 tons float on the surface, while some four billion plastic microfibers per square kilometer litter the deep sea. How can we begin to solve this problem without harming the marine life in the process? You are an engineer who also happens to have a love for marine biology. You're ready to take on the challenge of this massive problem. In order to move forward with this project, you have decided to build a prototype of a machine or device that can help solve the ocean trash problems. Are you going to focus on the surface trash or the trash that is found deep within our oceans? How is your solution going to impact marine life in a non-invasive way? How can you scale your solution to have the greatest impact around the globe? Good luck. The entire planet is counting on you!

What’s in a STEM Challenge?

• a video explaining the engineering challenge and setting the context for the project
• a BIG Question to guide the inquiry
• teacher presentation in PPT (Google-compatible) and Keynote
• a teacher's guide on what the teacher and students should be doing along the way
• student notebook offers
  • questions to provide the students with a framework for their inquiry throughout the entire project
  • opportunities to absorb new information and reflect on ways to use it to complete the challenge
• Using the LAUNCH process, students brainstorm with their peers and reflect on failures and opportunities, with the prospect of sharing their ideas with the world. This holds students accountable, and they will put forth the best effort, knowing that other students could critique the project.
• Each STEM Challenge contains a list of suggested supplies for its project. We were very cautious about choosing inexpensive items, and the supply list is dynamic, allowing for adjustments to individual situations. Suggested supplies include:
  • cardboard
  • glue
  • toilet paper/paper towel tubes
  • pipe cleaners
  • scissors
  • paper
  • tape
  • plastic garbage bags
  • plastic baggies
  • coffee filters
  • funnels
  • paperclips
  • rubber bands
  • toothpicks

NGSS Standards

Aside from the engineering components of this project, students will be learning about how simple machines (specifically, pulleys) make work easier.

NGSS: MS-ETS1-1, MS-ETS1-2, MS-ETS1-3, MS-ETS1-4, MS-ESS3-3, HS-ESS3-4