STEAM Fair
2016
Environmental Innovation
Student Name(s): _______________________
Environmental Innovation
The STEAM Fair gives students a chance to engage in a STEAM-based
project of their interest.
If you are completing an environmental innovation project, you will be
required to follow the Engineering Design Process (shown below). All
parts of this process should be documented and included as part of
your project presentation.
The date of the STEAM Fair is ​
Thursday, May 12th in the Media Center.
Your presentation and materials should be delivered to the Media
Center before school. On ​
Thursday, May 12th from 12:15-2:15, you will be
presenting your project to students from McGaugh.
A detailed description of further expectations are outlined on the
following pages.
Step 1: ASK - Define the Problem
● What environmental problems in this world need to be solved?
Can you solve one of those problems with a product or process?
● What do you want to do or what do you want to achieve?
● What do you want to change or what do you want to create?
● Journal or draw some of your ideas.
Step 2: ASK - Research
● Research topics:
○ What other products or processes are available that can
solve your environmental problem?
■ Identify at least 3 other designs or processes
currently being used.
○ Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of these other
products or processes.
○ How can you make a product or process that is truly
innovative?
● A minimum of 1 page (double spaced) typed in an ​
outline format.
○ You must include at least 4 resources from where you got
your information.
● Any words included in your outline that a typical student in your
grade would not understand MUST BE DEFINED and EXPLAINED
within the outline!
Step 3: IMAGINE - Brainstorm
● In your own words, write a short paragraph describing your
problem and how your design can solve it (should have been
defined in Step 1).
● Draw brief designs (brainstorm!) to explore possible solutions.
Step 4: PLAN - Develop a Design Proposal
● Develop a sketch of your design.
○ This sketch should be NEAT, CLEAR, DETAILED, and
LABELED.
● With your sketch, do the following:
○ Label each part identifying:
■ Material it is made of (if applicable)
■ Purpose (if applicable)
■ Dimensions (length, width, height, etc.)
○ Include top view and side view (if helpful)
Step 5: CREATE - Build, test, and re-test
● Build your design!
○ YOU ARE REQUIRED TO TAKE PICTURES DURING YOUR
BUILDING AND TESTING PROCESS!
■ These pictures should be included as part of your
presentation at the STEAM Fair.
■ Put your photos in chronological order, and write a
brief description with each photo, detailing what is
happening in the photo. This should be included as
part of your presentation at the STEAM Fair!
Step 6: IMPROVE - Communicate Design Changes
● As you build each section of your design, create a 3-column data
table (see sample below) describing changes made, why the
change was made, and how the change affected your device.
○ MAKE SURE YOU DO THIS AS YOU BUILD SO YOU DON’T
FORGET ALL THE MINOR CHANGES!
○ Any change made to your initial design proposal should be
recorded.
○ You may have to test/change one part multiple times before
it works – remember to record ​
all​
of these!
○ Pictures of these changes should be taken and added to
the pictures in the CREATE section.
Sample 3-Column Data Table:
​
Change Made
Why Change Was
Made
How Change
Affected Device
Change 1
Change 2
Step 7: IMPROVE - Develop a Final Design Proposal
● Provide a final sketch of your device. This final sketch should
follow the same criteria as the sketch in your initial design
proposal, but it should include all the changes that were made.
Reflection
● Type 2 - 3 paragraphs that thoroughly and thoughtfully answer
any or all of the reflection questions below:
○ What did you learn/discover from completing this project?
This can include new knowledge and skills learned through
research and the engineering design process.
○ How does your final design compare to your initial sketch?
Discuss your major changes and why these changes were
made. How did it affect the device (functionality, cost,
etc.)? Use data/information from building and testing to
support your discussion.
○ If you had additional time (or money and resources) to
alter or add to your design, what would you do to your
design to make it more successful or creative?
○ Now that you have new knowledge and experience from
doing this project, how can you use this to come up with a
NEW and different design? What future ideas would you
like to test?
Presentation
● You will be required to present your project to a reviewer at the
STEAM Fair.
○ Be prepared to explain the process by which you came up
with the final design.
● Your presentation should include a brief introduction and
conclusion, and it should also follow the engineering design
process.
● USE THE GUIDELINES to ensure you are completing all items
effectively.
STEAM Fair Expectations
What should I bring to present at the STEAM Fair?
● Visual Aid(s)
○ tri-fold or other large poster board ​
(​
Example​
)
■ board should:
● include name of your project and your name
● include any pictures/data tables/parts of your
project that can be attached
● stand on its own
● be neat!
○ a prototype of your actual design (if possible)
○ all labeled pictures of creation process, in chronological
order
● a computer or other technology device (if applicable)
■ your write-up (sample outline below)
■ include all steps of design process listed in previous
pages
■ should be neat and in order
Sample Environmental Innovation
Write-Up Outline
Your name
Your project’s name
Date of the STEAM Fair
Your project’s name
<Brief introduction (a few sentences to a few paragraphs is fine)>
Step 1: ASK - Define the Problem
<Write your information about this step here, including journal writings
and drawings. Please use complete sentences.>
Step 2: ASK - Research
<Write your outlined research information here. This may be in the
form of quick jotted notes. Complete sentences are not necessary.>
Step 3: IMAGINE - Brainstorm
<Write your short paragraph here.>
<Draw/write your brainstorm ideas here.>
Step 4: PLAN - Develop an Initial Design Proposal
<Draw your labeled sketch here.>
Step 5: CREATE - Build, test, and re-test
You may document this section in one of three ways:
1) include labeled pictures in your write-up
2) include labeled pictures on your poster board
3) include a picture album of labeled pictures
If you choose option 2 or 3, please refer to the location of the
pictures in this section. (Ex: “See pictures attached to poster board.”)
Step 6: IMPROVE - Communicate Design Changes
<Include your data table here.>
Step 7: IMPROVE - Develop a Final Design Proposal
<Draw your final sketch here.>
Reflection
<Include your 2 - 3 (or more!) paragraphs, detailing your reflection on
this project.>
References
A separate page with a list of the resources you used to gather
information should be included. Check with your classroom teacher to
determine if (s)he requires this page to be formatted in a certain
way.
References may include websites, books, magazines, videos, interviews,
or any other method of gathering research.