For the creative engineering project, each group was to focus on a "world problem." The problem we chose was not to be a social problem, such as war, and we would then take steps towards solving the problem. My group decided to solve the problem Destruction of Nature. We started out focusing just on deforestation, and how to stop that, but we soon realized it would be easier to focus on a broader topic. My group started out trying to figure out a solution. We misunderstood the object of the project, and set a goal that was way out of our reach. Once we understood the project more, we decided we needed a way to stop people from cutting down the trees. We tossed around ideas; plants that didn't need as much sunlight, trees that grew back quickly, planting plots that could live in or on the treetops, and finally, a rooftop garden. We then played around with where we were going to put these gardens. In the places deforestation was happening wouldn't be enough to sustain a whole farm, so we decided we should place them in big cities. This would then solve multiple problems: deforestation, air pollution, help pollinators, etc. Once my group decided what we were going to make, we started to build it. We made a small planting box that wasn't too heavy and could sustain a few plants. We needed to make sure the box with the soil wouldn't be to heavy, and wouldn't be too much for a roof to support. To help with this, we incorporated styrofoam with the soil. This would take up space, but still leave enough soil for the plants to use. We also needed plants that didn't need a lot of water, care, or shade. Once we had everything we needed, we put it all in our box. I think my group and I worked well together. We were all cooperative and worked equally on the project. I think we should have been more clear about what we needed to do before starting on the project, and we should have communicated our ideas more. For example, we came up with the idea to invent new trees that could grow in the ocean, but we couldn't compete this in the two weeks we had. I liked that we found things that we could do better for next time, but I also think we wouldn't have had so many things to correct if we thought it out more. We didn't put enough styrofoam in the soil, but one group member pointed this out after we had planted the plants. I think I needed to listen more to the project goal, because I was on the wrong track of what we needed to do for this project. I thought that we could make anything to solve the problem, even if it wasn't attainable. I did learn that making a planter box for a garden doesn't take a lot of materials and isn't very hard either. I need to improve on my listening skills, and when I think someone has something to say, to ask them instead of adding something myself.
Engineering Design Cycle: 1. Identify the need 2. Research the problem 3. Develop possible solutions 4. Select the most promising solution 5. Construct a prototype 6. Test and evaluate the prototype 7. Communicate the design 8. Redesign 9. Repeat