After School ‘to Go’ Spring 2016: Week 8

Exploring Hydroelectric Energy

This week at After School To-Go, Girlstart students put their engineering skills to the test and designed their very own water wheels! Before the brainstorming process began, girls reviewed the differences, pros, and cons of nonrenewable and renewable resources. After a quick discussion, girls were ready to see hydropower at work!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each group was given a pie pan, clay, and a pencil to create their water wheels. After building their initial designs, girls tested their wheels three times and recorded their observations. Groups were given the opportunity to improve and retest their designs before coming back to the large group discussion. Students had a short discussion about hydroelectricity and turbines. Girls were excited to realize that they had just created their very own simplified turbine! Everyone was ready to put their water wheels to work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Girlstart club mentors challenged students to make their water wheel do work by lifting a load of binder clips. Each group worked together to test their water wheels once again: one girl held the water wheel steady, another girl counted the number of rotations needed to lift the binder clips, and a third girl timed the entire process. After everyone recorded their observations, the large group discussed their findings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As part of the learning and critical thinking process, Girlstart students are encouraged to analyze their designs and their applicability in real life. To wind this week’s activity down, girls discussed the benefits and drawbacks of relying on hydroelectric energy. These up-and-coming water resource engineers offered their ideas to the class and contributed to an incredibly important conversation about future energy use!

After School Spring 2016: Week 8

Wind at Work

This week, Girlstart students discussed innovations in renewable energy and built their own turbine systems! After School sessions opened with a conversation about the pros and cons of different energy sources like coal and hydroelectricity, which allowed students to review important vocabulary, including “alternative energy”, “power”, “turbine”, and “work”. After the groups had a solid base of knowledge, they gathered materials to begin constructing their very own wind turbines.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Using skewers, straws, cork, string, and foam, girls worked together to assemble turbine systems that would produce the greatest energy output possible. In their groups, girls addressed issues such as the number of blades on the turbine, blade angle, and the length of the entire machine. After they finished their turbine system design, the girls tied a cup full of paper clips to the turbine’s body, which would measure the amount of work done. Club leaders used blow dryers to simulate wind, and each group lined up to put their design to the test.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After observing their turbines in action, some students went back to the drawing board to tweak or redesign their turbines and everyone discussed possible improvements. Students identified factors that contributed to turbine efficiency such as the number of blades, the blade angles, and the length of the turbine. By designing, building, testing, and evaluating turbine models, Girlstart students began to think like wind energy engineers!

After School ‘to Go’ Spring 2016: Week 7

Exploring the Effects of Oil Spills

In April 2010, a new oil well in the Gulf of Mexico was severely damaged, causing oil to leak into the Gulf for more than 80 days. The entire local ecosystem, which included fish, mammals, plants, and birds, was negatively affected. This week at After School To-Go, Girlstart students learned about the deadly consequences of oil spills and explored cleanup methods used by environmental scientists to clean up real-world messes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For their first activity, girls were given a clean, white feather to observe. The feather was fluffy, soft, and light. Students learned about barbs – a structure on the feather shaft which gives the feather its shape and makes it waterproof. After dipping the feather in water, students recorded their new observations. The feather was still white, fluffy, and wispy. Next, groups dipped their feather in oil and used their five senses to record their observations once again. The oil made the feather heavy, sticky, and dirty. Naturally, the last step was to clean the feather and make it white, light, and wispy once more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Girls quickly learned that the feather-cleaning process is not easy. Scientists use a solution of water and Dawn dishwashing liquid to rinse and scrub oil from birds’ feathers. After School To-Go girls followed the same routine and used a blow dryer to speed up the drying process. Some feathers looked almost as good as new, and some feathers were still covered with a thin layer of oil. Girls then discussed the best way to clean an entire bird.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, students observed three different oil spill cleanup methods – skimming, absorbing, and dispersing. Girls critically analyzed each method and offered pros and cons for each. This week, Girlstart students learned about the dire consequences of oil spills and began to envision innovative cleanup methods for the future!

 

After School Spring 2016: Week 7

Biofuels

At Girlstart, we encourage our students to create solutions to pressing scientific problems. This week, girls discussed the dwindling amounts of Earth’s nonrenewable resources and learned about biofuels, before creating their own! Girls discussed the pros and cons of using nonrenewable and renewable resources. Each group offered examples of renewable energy, such as hydroelectricity, solar, and wind energy. After refreshing their memories by reviewing important vocabulary, girls were ready to create their own biofuels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each group was given three bottles of warm water which were marked “yeast + water”, “yeast + corn syrup + water”, and “yeast + bran + water”. Students worked together to carefully add the ingredients, then covered the bottle openings with balloons. Girls wrote down a hypothesis for each bottle, stating what they believed would happen to the balloons.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After waiting a few minutes and shaking things up, the girls had their results! The bottles with yeast, corn syrup, and water had balloons with lots of air, while the bottle with yeast, bran, and water had a little less air, and the bottle with yeast and water had little to no air at all. Students had a lively discussion about their reasonings for the difference in balloon sizes. Girls were amazed at the results of the chemical reactions they created, and linked it back to the conversation about nonrenewable and renewable resources.

This activity allowed the girls to be biofuel engineers for a day, comparing the fuel production of different plants. With a few items that can be found in most kitchens, Girlstart is equipping girls to create innovative solutions for the future!