June’s Curriculum

2 0 1 4 - 2 0 1 5

FIRST Robotics Competition: http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc

FIRST Tech Challenge: http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/ftc

Google Science Fair: https://www.googlesciencefair.com/

Intel International Science and Engineering Fair: http://www.intel.com/about/corporateresponsibility/education/isef/index.htm

MIT THINK scholars program: http://think.mit.edu/

National Youth Cyber Defense Competition: http://www.uscyberpatriot.org/

Northrup Grumman High School Innovation Challenge: http://www.northropgrumman.com/CorporateResponsibility/CorporateCitizenship/Education/HSIC/Pages/default.aspx

REAL world design challenge: http://www.realworlddesignchallenge.org/index.php

Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology: http://siemens.collegeboard.org/

TEAMS (Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics and Science): http://teams.tsaweb.org

Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision Science Competition: http://www.exploravision.org/

*Further information on the above Engineering Competitions, other competitions and resources are available online at http://www.shpefoundation.org/shpejr/shpe-jr-chapter-curriculum/ under June 2015

SHPE Jr. Chapter Engineering Competitions*

SHPE Jr. Chapter Engineering Competitions Table

Contest Format Eligibility Application timeline Prize

MIT THINK Scholars Program

Students submit project proposals for any field of science, tech, or engineering. Finalists are funded to build out their projects.

Teams of 1-2 students enrolled in public, private or home school. Students must be U.S. residents.

Applications begin in fall thru the end of the year.

Scholarships of $500-$1000, plus $2000 to build project and mentorship from MIT students. Finalists get a paid trip to MIT.

 

FIRST Robotics Competition

Large-group teams raise funds, design a brand, and build a robot to compete against their competitors’ robots.

Teams of any size (average is 25) plus two adults.

Registration opens in May, first event is in Sept. Some grants are available for registration.

Scholarships to a variety of sponsoring educational organizations, ranging from $1,000 to full tuition. In addition, teams can register to compete for a variety of awards.

First Tech Competition

Students build a robot that competes against robots built by other teams.

Teams of 1-15 students in grades 7-12 plus two adult mentors.

Registration begins in May, design challenge in announced in Sept. Some grants are available for registration.

Scholarships to a variety of sponsoring educational organizations, ranging from $1,000 to $20,000.

Google science Fair

Science fair, submitted online. Finalists present at Google in CA.

Full-time and home-schooled students of any nationality (except for students in countries sanctioned by the U.S.) between the ages of 14 and 18.

Project submissions are due in May 2016. Exact date will be announced on the website.

Several different awards are given, some require separate submission. Scholarships and grants ranging from $5000 - $50,000.

Intel international science and engineering fair

Students participate in affiliated science fairs and then must be selected for participation in the competition in May.

Students grades 9-12, teams of 1-3. Students must adhere to ethics rules outlined on the website, based on their research topic.

Students should participate in affiliated science fairs during the 2015-2016 school year.

Cash and grant awards from $100 to $75,000

June 2015 Jr. Chapter STEM Activity

Design from Nature: Biomimcry

Some simple advice:

• Be prepared. Test-drive the activity beforehand.

• Have all the required materials on hand.

• Keep students on track.

• Keep an eye on the clock and follow the time frame.

• Be flexible and creative.

• Have fun!

Design from Nature: Biomimicry

Goal:Students think about some designs that have evolved in nature to solve certain problems. They consider how biomimicry might offer solutions to a problem in their community. They then make two drawings of their design from two different visual perspectives, and present their drawings to the larger group.

Engineering/STEM areas:Materials science, engineering design, biomimcry

Learning objectives• Understand what biomimicry is• Understand how engineers use nature to inspire design that can

address issues in the community• Practice presenting ideas to others in the form of a poster

Design from Nature: Biomimicry

Time: 45 - 60 minsSuggested group size:Pairs

Materials:• Student Resource Sheets (in lesson)• Student Worksheets (in lesson)• Paper or poster board for each pair, large enough for pairs to show their

drawings to the larger group. (See Instructor Resource for suggested ways pairs can display their work)

• Drawing pens or pencils for each pair, with a variety of colors• Tape (if you’ll be taping drawings to walls for a gallery walk)

Design from Nature: Biomimicry

Before the activity:

• Read through both the student and instructor resources so you have the background information

• Research and write a paragraph about a situation in your community that could be addressed with a biomimicry engineering solution.

• Decide how you want students to display their work and get paper or tagboard of an appropriate size

• Make enough copies of the Student Resource so that each student has one • Make one copy of the Student Worksheet per group, plus a few extras

Design from Nature: Biomimicry

The Eastgate center in Harare, Zimbabwe, is modeled on the structure of termite towers. The towers contain tiny vents that the termites open and close, maintaining a constant temperature inside. Engineers used a similar idea to create a passive cooling system for the Eastgate center.

Engineers can learn from solutions found in nature.Biomimicry is the practice of looking at solutions that have evolved in nature and using them as inspiration for ways to solve problems in our human world.

Most of the time, nature relies on solutions that are sustainable, resilient, and which use resources efficiently. Engineers can try to transfer those qualities to an engineering solution. If they succeed, they create a project that’s highly desirable because it can save money and resources while accomplishing a complex task.

Design from Nature: Biomimicry

Engineers can be inspired by a single feature of an organism, or by an entire system. Ever notice how a mosquito can bite you without you even knowing it? Engineers studied the mosquito’s stealth jab to design needles that offer a less painful poke.

Entire ecosystems can inspire solutions, too. Agricultural engineers are learning from the midwestern prairie ecosystem how to create farm fields don’t require fertilizers and pesticides, but still yield the same amount of food. Farmers and engineers in other climates can learn from these solutions about how parts of their own farm ecosystems are interconnected.

Design from Nature: Biomimicry

Activity procedure• Start the discussion by asking students to think of things that happen in nature that would

also be nice if humans could do them. If necessary, give examples like insects flying really fast or plants harnessing the sun’s energy.

• Explain that engineers look at nature all the time for inspiration and for efficient solutions to problems. Nature is a good place to look for solutions because natural systems evolve to use resources efficiently and to withstand and adapt to environmental pressures.

• Introduce the example of the Eastgate Center as biomimicry in architecture and go over the information in the Student Resource.

• Then introduce the issue in your community (or in the current news headlines or even a current movie). This issue could be a systemic problem, such as building a new water treatment plant, or a more specific issue, such as designing new street lights. Or it could relate to the natural climate, for example designing a swimming pool that doesn’t evaporate water in a desert environment, or a car engine heater that will help a car start in a cold, wintry environment.

• Ask students for some suggestions of natural phenomena to look at for inspiration. Examples could be: how a lake ecosystem processes waste from lake animals, how an electric eel generates electricity, how desert insects protect their insides in the heat, etc.

Design from Nature: Biomimicry

Activity procedure (cont’d)

• After hearing some student ideas, group students in pairs and make sure each pair has a set of drawing utensils and paper, tagboard, or posterboard.

• If students have access to the internet, give them 10 minutes or so to research their idea (i.e. to learn how lakes balance the environmental effect of fish waste, etc.). If students don’t have access to the internet, have some information on hand that they can refer to. (See the Teacher Resource for ideas about how to choose an issue and background information.)

• Give student pairs about 20 minutes to devise a solution inspired by the natural world. They should write a short paragraph describing their example, and make sketches of it from two different visual perspectives. They can draw their sketches and write their paragraphs directly onto the paper or tagboard, or they can practice first in the Student Resource. Remind them that this is just a quick draft, so they don’t need to be perfect, but they need to be clear enough for others to understand their ideas.

• Display the posters in a way that works best in your environment. Invite students to do a gallery walk and look at each pair’s posters. If there are a few minutes at the end, invite students to ask questions about each other’s posters.

Design from Nature: Biomimicry

Assessment

• Students create posters displaying their ideas. The posters need to include:• A paragraph describing how the design works and what element of nature

it draws on• Drawings of the design from two different visual perspectives

Design from Nature: Biomimicry

Vocabulary

• Adaptation – A strategy or characteristic that an organism has evolved in response to a pressure from its environment. For example, birds that gather nectar from deep inside a flower will have long beaks.

• Biomimicry – Using the characteristics of living things or natural systems as inspiration for the design of human-made products or systems.

• Nature (natural) – An object or system that has not been created by humans.

• Sustainable – Describes an object or system that uses resources in a way that doesn’t deplete them or change them permanently. A sustainable process is one that can continue in a cyclical way because it doesn’t significantly alter the environment that allows the process to go on.

Design from Nature: Biomimicry

Extensions• Using the drawings and ideas they created, tell students to answer the following

questions:• Is your solution sustainable? In what way?• What problems can you imagine might be created by your idea?• How practical is your idea? Could it be manufactured for a reasonable price using

easily obtained materials?

• Have students research a particular characteristic or adaptation of an animal to learn how that characteristic comes about. For example, a hummingbird’s super-fast wing movements or a whale’s ability to hold its breath under water for a long time. Then have students apply the characteristic they researched to address an issue in the human world.

Design from Nature: Biomimicry

Teaching tips• If you know your students, take the reins on pairing students with each other. Be mindful

of students who seem to work together well, and those who distract each other. Try to pair students that have complementary personalities.

• Circulate around the classroom as students are working and be sure to keep them on track, answer questions, and encourage students who are less assertive.

• If a pair of students seems stuck on ideas, give them some hints or point out some features of an organism that they might give special consideration to.

• Encourage students to think about their audience (other classmates) as they’re creating their poster sketches. If something is unclear to you on their poster, let them know and challenge them to make it clearer.

Design from Nature: Biomimicry

Takeaways:• Humans look for solutions to many of the same problems that nature has solved:

Humans are organisms, and need to solve many of the same problems other organisms do: access to food and water, protection from the environment, communication with others of the species, etc.

• Adaptations found in nature can inspire ideas for many engineered designs:The mosquito probe can inspire needles, the design of nests, dens, and hives can inspire architecture, and even the workings of ecosystems can provide examples for improvement in human systems.

• Communicating your ideas to others is an important engineering skill:Being able to share your ideas in a clear and engaging way is an integral part of the engineering design process.

Design from Nature: Biomimicry

Resources and bibliography:Biomimicry in Engineeringhttp://tryengineering.org/lessons/biomimicry.pdf

Biomimicry: Nature as Model, Measure, and Mentorhttp://tinyurl.com/pyrupa8

Biomimicry Exampleshttp://biomimicry.org/biomimicry-examples/

Biomimicry Resource Toolkit for K-12 educators:http://ben.biomimicry.net/curricula-and-resources/youth-curricula/resource-toolkit-for-k-12-educators/

Biomimicry for Education:http://biomimicry.info/index.htm

Design from Nature: Biomimicry

Questions about the activity?

Contact Robin MarksDiscovery Street Science

discoverystreetscience@gmail.com