Science Experiment

We have been learning about water the past few weeks in science; how much usable water there is on earth, how we get water in our homes, how we can conserve water in our homes, and how professionals clean the water that we use. This past week, we decided to become scientists and experiment with ways in which we could clean dirty water. The students were placed in groups of three and were only given these instructions: they are to create some type of device to clean a cup of dirty water. Students were given a list of supplies to choose from, but they were only allowed to choose six things from this list: scissors, coffee filter, cotton ball, q-tip, paper plate, plastic cup, straw, or a popsicle stick. On the first day of this experiment, groups chose their six items and drew out what their device would look like. I checked over these drawings, approved them, and the next day the students began to create their devices.

After students created their water cleaning devices, it was time to put them to the test with some dirty, stinky pond water. Each group took a turn while the rest of the groups watched to discern whether or not the group's device actually cleaned the pond water or not. Here are a few pictures, along with a video, of the groups testing their water cleaning creations.

Once all of the groups had gone through and tested their devices, the groups decided that none of their water cleaning devices completely cleaned the water so that it was safe to utilize. After coming to this conclusion, the groups met one more time to decide what they did very well and what they could have done better with their water cleaning creations. We discussed how scientists do this sort of reflection after experimenting with something that didn't work quite as well as it should have. Overall, the students greatly enjoyed this chance to behave as scientists would when they're trying to solve a problem. Great job student scientists!