ENERGY SOLUTIONS FOR A BETTER TOMORROW 4th GRADE (PBL UNIT 3 2024 / 2025)

AIS Innovation Center

First Floor

Date:

March 2025

Teacher(s):

Ms. Ilva Martinez

Participants:

4th Grade

Overview:

Students presented their prototypes during an Exhibition Day held at school. Parents did not attend; it was an internal showcase for students and teachers.

Driving Question:

¿How can we use energy transfer to design a sustainable solution for a local or global energy challenge?

Purpose of the Project:

Students will explore how energy is transferred and applied to solve a real-world problem that they can perceive and relate to. This project focuses on designing devices to address energy-related challenges specific to Barranquilla, Colombia, or global issues.

Objectives of the Project:

Challenges Adressed

Local (Barranquilla/Atlántico): How can we help families in Barranquilla use solar energy to cool their homes and reduce their energy costs?
National (Colombia): How can we design energy-efficient devices to help rural Colombian communities without reliable electricity access?
Global: How can we design devices that reduce energy waste and promote renewable energy use worldwide?

Final Product

Students designed devices such as:

Solar ovens.
Small solar panels to power fans or motorized devices.
Passive solar water heaters.
Solar-powered lamps using LEDs and rechargeable batteries.
Shade structures that reduce heat transfer while allowing light to pass through.

Skills Developed

Scientific Inquiry: Making observations, collecting data, and analyzing energy transfer processes.
Engineering Design: Applying ideas to solve real-world problems, designing, testing, and refining prototypes.
Critical Thinking: Predicting outcomes, solving challenges, and evaluating device effectiveness.
Collaboration and Communication: Working in teams to create solutions and presenting findings effectively.

Guiding Questions

How is the energy transformed to be used by the family for their daily tasks?
What challenges do you see in using renewable energy sources?
How can energy transformations be used to solve your chosen problem?
How can we ensure our solutions are sustainable?
What materials or components would you need to make your solution work?
How does your energy transfer system work?

Project Development Process

Workshops:

Students worked at the Fab Lab with Mr. Boris using Tinker Cat and creating mood boards.
Students researched energy sources and transformations, brainstormed solutions, and designed circuits in Tinkercad to demonstrate how energy can be transformed to perform a specific task.
Activity: Students designed a simple circuit in Tinkercad to demonstrate how energy can be transformed to perform a specific task (e.g., lighting an LED, or powering a motor).

Entry Event: Talk by Oscar Tom, expert in solar panels.

Design Process: Brainstorm, Design, Investigate, Build, Test, Modify.