Our team [(from Left to Right) Jenna, Adelynn, Piper, and Savoy] volunteering for the SFCM's Weird Science Halloween Event!
IQP is one of WPI's most unique elements! It is described as; "Unlike an academic course, this nine-credit-hour requirement involves students working in teams, with students not in their major, to tackle an issue that relates science, engineering, and technology to society. Sustainability serves as a common theme for IQPs, many of which address problems related to energy, environment, sustainable development, education, cultural preservation, and technology policy" on the WPI website.
Our team in specific is working on a project located in Santa Fe NM, in collaboration with the Santa Fe Children's Museum. We are tasked with developing a portable water exhibit for the museum to be able to take to different schools and also use in house.
This page is dedicated to our teams adventures and our work!
Work
"Go Kits"
The Santa Fe Children's Museum developed the "Go-Kit" program during COVID-19 as a way for children to still learn science at home. We have been tasked with creating new kit ideas, focused on water conservation. The following images below are the up to date prototypes of those activities.
WATER FILTRATION ACTIVITY
OIL IN WATER ACTIVITY
PORTABLE EXHIBIT PROTOTYPING PHASE
This is the drawn design of our project!
Our initial design drawing
Our portable exhibit idea has multiple steps to accommodate Santa Fe's larger class sizes. We have three steps, 1. Getting the Water 2. Filtering the Water 3. Distributing the Water.
Step 1
We want to have a clear, acrylic, box with an open top-like a fish tank but we need it to be light for transport. We want a pulley-systems with cranks for each of the three sections. Each section will have a different quality of water, one with "clear water", one with "oily water", and one with "dirty water". The children will learn the value of water and where Santa Fe's water comes from (the ground). This step is meant to replicate a well, something familiar to children and the work require to get the water will cause an appreciation for our real wells and water!
This is the beginning of our prototype!
