The Arizona STEM Acceleration Project

Our Landfills

Sustainability Robotics Challenge

Our Landfills

Sustainability Robotics Challenge

A 6th Grade -STEM Design Challenge

Marie Lombardi

March 6, 2023

Notes for Teachers

List of Materials: �

LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime Set (1 set per team)

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Laptop

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-Multi-colored ping pong balls

Blue - recyclable

Green- compostable

Orange - repurposed

All other colors represent waste.

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-Lego table (can be constructed out of cardboard if no Lego table available).

Table setup with a mock landfill. Include obstacles you would find at a landfill such as weigh station, large piles of refuse.

According to data from Waste Business Journal, American landfills only have about 11-16 years of capacity left. Once our existing landfills reach capacity, new areas will have to be repurposed to create new landfills. These repurposed areas are often rural areas with native vegetation that could otherwise be working to sequester carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. In urban areas, creating new landfills is also difficult, because land is at a premium, and no community wants their new neighbor to be a landfill. Many items ending up in landfills can be composted, repurposed, and/or recycled. These items take up valuable space in landfills that could otherwise be occupied by non-recyclable materials.

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• Students should be familiar with coding, using colored sensors, and Lego Education SPIKE Prime Set or other robotics kits.

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Standards

Life Science:

6.L2U3.11 Use evidence to construct an argument regarding the impact of human activities on the environment and how they positively and negatively affect the competition for energy and resources in ecosystems.

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Ed Technology:

6-8.5.d. Students understand how automation works and apply algorithmic thinking to design and automate solutions.

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Science & Engineering Practices:

• Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering)
• Developing and using models
• Planning and carrying out investigations
• Constructing explanations
• Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

Objective(s):

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Essential Question: Can a code be created that will command a robot to identify and retrieve items from landfills that can be either recycled, repurposed, or composted?

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Agenda - 2-3 Days

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Intro: Landfill video

Trash Talkin’

Go over Criteria, Constraints, Materials

Allow coding and testing time

Test final code

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Intro/Driving Question/Opening

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1. What is a landfill?�Virtual Field Trip - Landfill
2. What items are ending up in our landfills? �Trash Talkin’

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Student Guide

Constraints

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• You may not touch the robot once it starts moving.

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• You robot must travel around obstacles, not over them.

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• Your robot has 3 minutes to complete the challenge.

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• You have 3 attempts to complete the challenge successfully.�

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Materials

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• LEGO® Education SPIKE™

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• Laptop

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• Various colored ping pong balls:

Blue- recyclable

Green- compostable

Orange-: repurposed

All other colors represent waste.

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• Table set up with a mock landfill. Include obstacles you would naturally find at a landfill such as weigh station, large piles of refuse. �

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Success Criteria

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• The Design Process is evident and each step can be defended.

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• Your robot used color sensors to locate items to be removed from the landfill.

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• You were able to locate and remove at least one item from each category: Compostable, recyclable, repurposed.

Can a code be created that will command a robot to identify and retrieve items from landfills that can be either recycled, repurposed, or composted?

Instructions

Assessment

Success Criteria

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• The Design Process is evident and each step can be defended.

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• Your robot used color sensors to locate items to be removed from the landfill.

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• You were able to locate and remove at least one item from each category within the time constraints: Compostable, recyclable, repurposed.

AERIAL VIEW OF A LANDFILL

Differentiation

• Flexible grouping depending on students needs.
• Group students that can code with students that need assistance.
• Share Design Process Steps (notes).

Extension/Enrichment

• Give robot less time to complete challenge
• Give less attempts to complete the challenge
• Add research on landfills

Remediation