Vivian Jeffers

GDP 118 (Online)

Project: The Mouse Trap

Instructor: Liz Russotti

What iffing Questions?

1. What if a mouse could not reproduce? 2. What if a mouse was clean and germ-free? 3. What if a mouse was the most common pet? 4. What if mice were a type of meat? 5. What if they were not scared of us? 6. What would happen if we began to like them? 7. What would happen if they could wear jackets? 8. What if a mouse lived in a tree? 9. What if they were an endangered species? 10. What would happen if they could live in the water? 11. What would happen if they could fly? 12. What would happen if there was hunting season for mice? 13. What would happen if they only ate grass? 14. What if they were slow? 15. What if they had a fury tail? 16. What if they could sing? 17. What if we used them 18. What is a mouse could swim? 19. What if a mouse was the size of a dog? 20. What if a mouse had paws? 21. What if a mouse had a winter coat of fur? 22. What if they did not find shelter in a house? 23. What if they could snuggle with a bear? 24. What if they hibernate? 25. What if they only were only born once a year?

Mind Map Combinations:

1. Plastic, cheese, nest, mice, walls. 2. Electricity, cat, rats, cotton, seeds. 3. Wood logs, candy, insulation, heat, snow leopard. 4. Cheese, plastic, mice, rope, stick. 5. Pipe, cheese, mouse, plastic. 6. Owl (bird), plastic, peanut butter, mice, food. 7. Rocks, box, crumbs, mouse, bird. 8. Warmth, nest, skinny, bread, bottle. 9. Wire, wood, heat, beam, mouse.

10. Cookies, peanut butter, pellets, glue, mice, hole.

Solutions:

1. The Fun Trap For my first mouse trap idea, there would be a plastic bubble container. The container would be portable, lightweight with a handle. Inside of the container there would be a fake piece of scented cheese hanging from the ceiling by a wired string. The mice would be attracted to the smell of a fake cheese. Once a mouse entered the container they would not be able to come back out. The container would have a one-way entrance door, and another door on the opposite side of the container. The second door would be use to release the trapped mice. There would be a spinning wheel attached inside of the container, letting the mice to exercise or to play in it. The container would also be made out of clear plastic, allowing you to see the mice in the container.

2. The Jumper Trap For my second mouse trap idea, there would be a plastic bucket. The plastic bucket would have a short plastic stick in the center of it. You would have to brush on peanut butter around the plastic stick. After you spread the peanut butter around the stick, you would then fill up the bucket with water. There would be a line on the outside of the bucket to let the customer know were to fill the water to. The trap would also come with a plastic stand. You would have to place the stand above the bucket. The stand would have an empty birdfeeder that would help the mice to get to the peanut butter. The bird feeder would be a droll Yankee bird feeder (http://www.drollyankees.com/hproducts/squirrel-proof-feeders/Yankee-Dipper-Squirrel%20Proof-%20Bird-Feeder.html?Itemid=3). Droll Yankee bird feeders cannot handle a lot of weight on their metal bars, because they are meant to hold only birds. When the mouse would touch the metal bars on the bird feeder, they would fall into the water, and drown.

3. Turbo Trap My third mouse trap idea, would be a plastic pipe that would have peanut butter spread at one end of the pipe (not the entrance side). Once the mouse pass a certain point in the pipe a sensor that would be built in the pipe would go off. Once the sensor turned on there would be a vacuum like machine that would come on. The vacuum would suction the mouse into its container. The vacuum’s container would have plastic bag inside of it. Making it easy for some to dispose of the bag, once it was full.

4. The Maze My fourth mousetrap idea, would be a plastic pipe that would be attached to a plastic container. The plastic pipe would be horizontal, and a vertical pipe would be attached to one of its ends. From there the vertical pipe would be attached to a container. The pipe would have a string in it. The string would have a hook, were you would place a piece of cheese. The cheese would dangle above the container inside the pipe. The way that the mousetrap would work, would be by a mouse being attracted to the smell of the cheese. Once the mouse was in the pipe they would follow the smell of the cheese. The pipe would drop the mouse into a container that would be filled with water. There would be no

way out for the mouse. To remove the pipes all you would have to do is twist (Doodle #5).

5. The 4 Step Trap My fifth invention is a container that would have dividers in it. The way that you would use this trap is by placing peanut butter at the back of the box. Once there was peanut butter spread at the back of the box you would turn the on switch to activate it. Batteries would operate it. Once a mouse went it in, it would close the entrance door. When the mouse reached the peanut butter a sensor would go off. A wall would come out inside of the box and would trap the mouse. You would then repeat the process and spread peanut butter on the back of the new wall. Once all of the 3 walls came out you would be able to press a button where it would neuter/spay the mice by laser beams. After they were spayed neutered you would be able to release them. It would only be able to retain 4 mice in the box.