A competition was designed, involving local high schools from varying socioeconomic backgrounds to tackle an open-ended problem related to water desalination and purification. The teams were presented with the following scenario: <i>Your team has been “Shipwrecked” on an abandoned island where the only drinkable water was contaminated from the wreck and is not from a fresh water source.</i> Each team was given a box of supplies full of things typically found on a boat and an island that they were limited to use for the design and construction of a water purification/desalination apparatus. Utilizing the academic calendar, the project timeline included a variety of check points, culminating in a design showcase at Lewis University where the teams had to purify an unknown sample of contaminated water. The projects were presented to a panel of expert judges and evaluated based on design innovation, chemistry applied to solve the problem, apparatus repeatability, efficiency and final sample drinkability. This project exposes and empowers students to address real world issues that require complex chemistry, critical thinking, project dissemination, team building/collaboration, and most importantly builds confidence in the implementation of the scientific method.

Design and development of a student-centered environmental competition focusing on water desalination and purification

2019 Spring National Meeting

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