STEM Challenge - Project A Touch of Nature - Water Cycle in a Bottle

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:

You are enrolled in science summer camp at the local museum. As part of your great week, you're learning how the water cycle works in a closed system. Your project includes building a terrarium in a 2-liter bottle. You will need to research what a terrarium is and how one can be self-sustaining. Choose one of the following biomes on which to model your terrarium: rainforest, desert, or grasslands. Along the way, you will review the water cycle and how biotic and abiotic factors work together in an ecosystem. Your finished product will be sold in the museum gift shop to support a new butterfly center.

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:
  • Two-Liter bottle (make sure it’s clean)
  • Small rocks like aquarium rocks
  • Activated charcoal
  • Potting soil
  • Small plants of different colors, shapes, and textures (depending on biome)
  • Sphagnum or Spanish moss
  • Decorative rocks, shells, or decorative ceramic pieces
  • Water
    

Supports these Next Generation Science Standards:

MS-LS2-3

Develop a model to describe the cycling of matter and flow of energy among living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem.

MS LS2-4

Construct an argument supported by empirical evidence that shows changes to physical or biological components of an ecosystem affect populations.

MS-ETS1-1

Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.

MS-ETS1-2

Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.

MS-ETS1-3

Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success.

MS-ETS1-4

Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.