S.O.A.P. Students Organized Against Pollution

Transcription

1 S.O.A.P. Students Organized Against Pollution Welcome! We are the Student Organized Against Pollution (S.O.A.P) Lego League Team. We are comprised of 4 th, 5 th, and 6 th grade boys and girls. We participate in the Minnesota First Lego League. What IS FIRST LEGO League FIRST LEGO League in Minnesota (MN FLL ) is part of an international robotics program that includes more than 200,000 kids in 63 countries. Teams collaborate to build and program a robot to score points on a playing surface. In addition, teams develop and create an innovative solution to a problem connected to a theme. This year s theme is Hydro Dynamics. These three elements, the Robot Game, the Project, and Core Values, make up what is called The Challenge.

2 The Robot Game Using a LEGO MINDSTORMS robot kit, teams design, build and program an autonomous robot to achieve specific missions inspired by the yearly Challenge. Teams compete in three 2.5 minute rounds and are evaluated on mechanical design, programming, design innovation & strategy. This year s table design. The Project Teams conduct research to solve a real-world problem, develop an innovative solution and present and share their work at the competition and within their communities. They are evaluated in research, innovative solution and presentation. Core Values The 8 core values are the cornerstones of the FLL program. Teams are evaluated on HOW they work together, as well as inspiration, teamwork and gracious professionalism. The Core Values are: We are a team. We do the work to find solutions with guidance from our coaches and mentors. We know our coaches and mentors don't have all the answers; we learn together. We honor the spirit of friendly competition. What we discover is more important than what we win. We share our experiences with others. We display Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition in everything we do. We have FUN!

3 This team-based, hands-on, competitive robotics program provides challenging and exciting learning opportunities for young people. It spurs innovation, develops teamwork and leadership skills and promotes excitement in science and technology. Visit the FIRST website for more program details. We identified a problem. OUR PROJECT 1. Run off rain water can potentially cause pollution, erosion, and flooding. 2. We don t have fresh, locally grown produce in the Winter in Minnesota. We wanted to developed strategies and ways to use rain water so it doesn t get wasted. We wanted to find some ways that we could use run off rain water for the human water cycle. We also wanted fresher food during the typical nongrowing season in Minnesota. We developed a potential solution. We decided to use rain barrels to collect water that we would have otherwise gone into the sewer system. With this rain barrel water, we decided to use that rain water to build a hydroponic garden. We did a variety of research. We did internet research. We searched topics like: facts about hydroponics, how to build a hydroponic garden, benefits of hydroponics, hydroponic gardens near me, uses of rain barrels, etc. We also watched YouTube videos about how to build a hydroponic garden and how to install a rain barrel. We took field trips.

4 We visited Mr. King, agriculture teacher at Holmen High School, Wisconsin. Mr. King has a hydroponic garden at his school. They use the products from their hydroponic garden for their school lunches. From Mr. King we learned: There is no soil used in hydroponic gardens. The food tastes better grown in hydroponics. LED lights placed close to plants can mimic sunlight, which helps the plants to grown. You need to have balanced nutrients, like fertilizers, to help the plants grow. We learned that plants grow faster using a hydroponic garden. Herbs grow well in hydroponics. Herbs can be dried to create a

5 specialized seasoning blend. We learned that pelleted seeds are often used in hydroponic gardens because the seeds germinate faster. We learned that if you start seeds in a cool, dark environment, it helps them to germinate faster. The initial growth from seeds are called microgreens and can be used in salads. We learned that algae build up in the hydroponic container is not good for the plants. Therefore, is it important to keep the water flowing and aerated. We also traveled to GoodGreens Aquaponics, LaCrosse, WI. They are a local organization that raises fish, which produces nutrient rich waste water. This waste water is naturally filtered and converted into a form of water that is usable for the plants. The water flows under the plants and the plants roots absorb the nutrients. This process then cleans the water, which is then sent back into the fishes tanks.

6 At GoodGreens, we learned: LED lights work well to grow hydroponic gardens and save 70% of electricity compared to regular fluorescent lights. Plants like a mixture of different types of light from the whole light spectrum. Hydroponic gardens work better than regular gardening, using soil, for several reasons. For example, you don t have to worry about bugs/pests impacting the plants. Also, you don t have to worry about soil erosion or fertilizer washing away during rainstorms. Finally, we learned never go near a 500 gallon barrel of more than a 100 tilapia fish while they are being fed because you will get splashed!

7 OUR HYDROPONIC GARDEN We began our first hydroponic garden on October 17th, Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 We put our chosen seeds, lettuce and swiss chard, in damp paper towels to help the seeds start to sprout. We kept them in a covered bowl for one week. After one week, the seeds started to sprout (Figure 1). Then we took the

8 sprouted seeds and placed two in each foam medium, which we then placed in a basket in our hydroponic garden (Figure 2). We also took two small seedings of spinach that was started in soil and transplanted them into our hydroponic garden (Figure 3). We placed the container near a window. They slowly started growing. Through our research, we learned that plants need nutrients. Thus, we added some Miracle Grow to our water. We used the amount suggested by the manufacturer. After doing additional research and learning from our field trips, we realized that our plants were not likely getting enough of the correct types of light. Thus, we added an LED light to provide a greater spectrum of light. Our LED light had focused red & blue lights, thus the purple hue.

9 After talking with Mr. King, we learned that we likely over fertilized our plants. This and the initial lack of enough light likely contributed to our plants dying. As a result, we decided to build our own hydroponic garden containment system. We found a clear large plastic container. We got some insulation, cut it to fit into the container, drew circles the size of our seed holding baskets, cut the circles (Figure 4), and pushed out the cut forms (Figure 5). Figure 4

10 Figure 5 We started some new seeds to germinate by placing them in damp rockwool (Figure 6), our new medium, covering them up, and placing them in a cool location. Once the seeds started to sprout, we placed the rockwool in a basket, put the baskets in the predrilled insulation holes, and placed the entire system our container which was filled with water from our rain barrel. Figure 6 We continued to have challenges and noticed that our plants didn t grow well. At Mr. Christianson s suggestion, we got a ph meter. Both Mr. King and Mr. Christianson said that plants like to be between 6 and 7.5. We were consistently had a ph over 8, which was too alkaline! Thus we had to make the water more balanced. We did this by adding vinegar. The plants continued to be very small and weak. Our experts told us that plants could

11 always use more aeration in the water. So, we got two more air bubblers to help provide oxygen to our plants roots. These pictures show how we have added additional LED light. We placed the light directly over our garden compared to when we had it on the side of the container. This helps the light to reach the plants more equally. We also utilized our original hydroponic garden containment system with new seedings. This system was placed near a south facing window to try to maximize natural sunlight. Throughout our season, we learned a great deal about working together as a team, building a robot, computer programming, our rain barrel-hydroponic garden project, and problem solving. Below is a summarization of how some of the core values influenced us this season. Discovery We did research to learn about hydroponic gardens and rain barrels. We learned how to work together. We had to keep trying and never give up while working. We learned that it takes time to build and program. We had opportunities to learn when our project and robot did not work originally as expected. Inclusion

12 We listened to people s ideas. We narrowed down our options, and then we voted to determine our final option. We added to each other s ideas. We sometimes used majority rules. Integration We talked to our family and friends about our work and what we ve learned. We learned from each other. We made a webpage about our team and project for our school s website. We donated a hydroponic garden kit to our school s Mardi Gras silent auction. Cooperation We talked with other teams and coaches. We practiced our manners. We have cheered for other teams from our school and other schools. We performed our skit for other grades at our school.