Jan 30

We are starting to conclude our unit on liquids. This unit was a big unit with lots of big ideas that we will revisit through the year. Some of the ideas we have covered are

qualities of water vs other liquids
viscosity - what materials are more or less viscous and why?
materials that are absorbent, materials that repel (are waterproof)
solids vs liquids
the water cycle
ways we use water in our lives
what happens when our water is polluted

Currently we are studying water that has been contaminated with oil. At first looking at this, many of us thought that an oil spill wouldn't impact the living things in the water. However, after testing out our own "pond", we have noticed that the oil impacts EVERYTHING in the water. We noticed that it covered our plants and our animals and after some research, learned that it would affect what animals eat, the amount of sunshine they receive and their overall wellness.

We tested this by using a feather to dip into the healthy pond and then again into our unhealthy pond. We noticed that the feather repelled the water and was quickly dry again when it was in the healthy pond. When we did the same in the unhealthy pond, we noticed that the oil did not evaporate or repel. This caused the feather to become heavy and greasy. We discussed how this could impact a bird by adding weight to it and possibly even preventing the bird from flying.

Currently we are exploring different ways to clean these birds and our pond. We are applying our design thinking skills in order to do this and today we worked in small teams to come up with ideas.