Introduction: Now onto the more complicated part of this project, actually designing an outdoor classroom. We were building a classroom for a few reasons. First, we don't need to use energy. Second, it would add a new site for people to be. Finally, the school is willing to fund us. For this, we had to take data from a survey we made to be taken school wide. This survey consisted of questions that would influence our design, such as what type of seating they want, what key features they want (wifi, whiteboards, etc..), what kind of place they want the outdoor classroom to be (lounge, learning space, etc..), and what subjects they want to be taught (math, science, english, etc..) From this survey, we learned that both students and teachers want amphitheater style seating, the students want wifi and the teachers want white boards, and most people, both students and teachers, want the outdoor space to be quiet. Using this information, we decided to have amphitheater/bench seating, space for 2+ classrooms, whiteboards, wifi access, and a quiet location, as we felt these were the most important features of our classroom.
Our Design: We had 6 weeks to design our classroom after our survey information. To start off, we designed our bench/ amphitheater seating, and our shade structure. Our bench seating was multi-tiered, where every layer was 18in high, 15in long, and 30ft wide, and was built as a retaining wall. Our shade structure was built at a 35° angle so the most sunlight would come in during the middle of the day, so you wouldn't be cold during the day. It would also be located behind the art building, on a hill so we could use the natural area instead of building our own mini hill somewhere else. We also had a white board located in front of the structure to help the teachers teach. This design costed us about $2,400 which gives a 20% buffer to the $3000 we had to spend. To help with choosing our materials, we also did a materials testing lab to show us which materials are the most water resistant and which absorb the most heat.
Concepts: Atom: The basic unit of a chemical element Proton: The positively charged particle that resides in the nucleus of the atom Neutron: The neutrally charged particle that resides in the nucleus of the atom Electron: The negatively charged particle that resides around the nucleus of the atom Molecule: A group of atoms bonded together. Element: The most basic building block that cannot be broken down anymore Conduction: The transfer of heat through a fluid. (solid or liquid) Convection: The movement caused within a fluid by the tendency of hotter and therefore less dense material to rise, and colder, denser material to sink under the influence of gravity, which consequently results in transfer of heat. Insulation: Protect (something) by interposing material that prevents the loss of heat or the intrusion of sound. Radiation: Emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. Laws of Thermodynamics: 0. If two systems have equal heat and a third is equal with the second, the third is equal to the first 1. Energy is neither created nor destroyed 2. Entropy always increases in a thermal system 3. You can never reach absolute zero, no system can contain zero energy
Reflection: After finishing our design and presentation, we had to actually present it in front of people. We presented in front of a panel of judges consisting of parents from the STEM fund, engineers, teachers, and even students. I feel like our group did very well during the presentation and project in general. We worked very well together and ended up becoming stronger friends in the end. We worked very well and gave it our all, although two of our members only worked half the time. During this project I learned what I could do better as well as what I don't need to improve upon. I need to improve upon my team working skills as well as my communication skills. I need to be able to bring the group together and be able to tell them what to do if they are confused, these two skills would have greatly helped me during this project. I also feel that I really worked hard all the time and was able to give good leadership towards my team. All in all, I feel like this was a great engineering project that taught me a lot about building and construction, as well as who to choose next time for my next project.