6th grade students used the Engineering/Design model to answer the question: How can we capture the sun’s energy and use it for pasteurizing water?
Students were able to select, build and modify their design to pasteurize 40ml of water at a temperature of 65ºC using only energy captured from the sun. Bonus points were available for building in features that allow the system to track the sun and engineering for ease of use or user safety. Two students built a solar heater that reached slightly over 100ºC (boiling point of water).
Lessons learned from this engineering project will be applied to students’ City Action Project where they will design a building that captures energy from the sun that meets minimum LEED certification standards.