Slick Clean Up

STEM Career:

Cleanup and Oil Spill Response Technician

These technicians specialize in dangerous and non-dangerous spills. They work with spills from boats and other vehicles. They also work with cleanup from natural disasters. They are required to have equipment ready to deal with oil spills.

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Oil Spill

By Melvin Berger

Problem:

Oh no, there has been an oil leak from a boat off the coast of Cape Hatteras. It’s making a big mess in the ocean.

The Challenge:

Find a way to remove an oil spill from water.

What is the problem?

What are you being asked to do?(criteria)

What are the limits of what you can do? (constraints)

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Before gathering your materials, think of several ideas and draw them.

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What would you like it to look like?

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Materials:

newspaper coffee filters water container vegetable oil water yarn cotton balls dish soap paper towels

Once you have gathered your materials, use your ideas from your brainstorming and make a plan of how you want to design your clean up device..

Can you do it with the materials you have on hand?

Draw out a plan.

So here is the part you can try to create, work on your solution to your plan.

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Do your best, it doesn’t have to be perfect, as you will have a chance to improve it.

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A. What worked? What didn’t work?

�B. What could have worked better?

�C. Modify your design to make

it better.

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Reflection

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Did your design come out as you had planned?

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If you changed your design, what did you do?

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What is the best thing about your design?