Functional biomaterial learning kits based on cellulose evaporation engines
Abstract
With the increasing popularity of visual communications, learning kits for visual and tactile learners are becoming effective tools for teaching STEM in the 21st century. The overarching goal of this proposal is to develop a pilot biomaterial learning kit based on cellulose evaporation engines to visually and tactilely stimulate STEM learning. We intend to 1) use commercial baking papersand acrylics to develop an evaporation-driven rotary engine as a learning kit; 2) bring City University of New York (CUNY) undergraduates into the lab for interdisciplinary trainings; and 3) communicate functional biomaterials to New York high school students and their teachers by using our pilot learning kits.We will support four CUNY undergraduate students to develop a low cost version of the rotary engine to be used as a learning kit. These four CUNY students will test water-responsive properties of commercial baking papers, design, and fabricate the rotary engine. To get feedback from students and teachers, we plan to exhibit the engine in our newly developed ASRCIlluminationSpace and give lectures on functional biomaterials to students and their teachers who visit the IlluminationSpace, where visitors can explore state-of-the-art science in a fun and supportive environment. We plan to provide opportunities for visitors to play with these ~toys,~ for example, by adding water to activate the engine. Undergraduate students and the PI will give ~5 lectures to the visitors, including students from a pool of more than 745 public high schools in New York. After each lecture, we plan to give surveys to these students and teachers, and to use these surveys as feedback to continuously improve our kits. We expect that this proposed activity can help to create a new biomaterial learning kit for effective teaching and learning STEM. Moreover, this activity could potentially attract more talented and motivated high school students to pursue STEM careers.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- May 23, 2019
- Source ID
- N000141912196
Entities
People
- Xi Chen
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- Research Foundation of The City University of New York
- United States Navy