STEM Challenge - Project In the Mist - Design a Gorilla Research Enclosure

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:

As part of a conservation effort, your local zoo is going to be receiving six Western Lowland Gorillas which are native to Central Africa. The zoo has been anxiously waiting to open a new exhibit, and they want it to be one of the highlights of the zoo. Your team has been commissioned to design a habitat that best supports the new gorillas. You will need to research the gorillas' natural habitat and use that information to make them feel as comfortable as possible. What biotic and abiotic factors will need to be included in your exhibit? Where will the gorillas eat and get rest? How will they stay active? What kind of education will be provided to visitors? Your project will answer these questions and more when working on this unique STEM challenge. It's time to get busy. The gorillas will be arriving in less than a year.

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:
  • Glue
  • Toilet paper/paper towel tubes
  • Pipe cleaners
  • Scissors
  • Paper
  • Tape
  • Craft sticks
  • Pine needles, moss or such
  • Rocks
  • String, yarn or twine
  • Fabric
  • Sticks
  • Paperclips
  • Rubber bands
  • Toothpicks
  • Small toys
  • Play-Doh or clay
  • Sand
  • Water container
    

Supports Next Generation Science Standards:

MS-LS2-1

Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in 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.