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The Flood Fighter Challenge

Shelly Kleinpeter, Scott, Claire

Objective:

  • Students will be able to understand the importance of an elevated home and other ways to protect a home from flooding
  • Students will be able to use limited supplies to protect a home from a flood

Background:

Natural hazards like floods are common in Louisiana and throughout the country. It is important to use certain building techniques to create homes that are resistant to flooding.

Materials

  • 1 item to represent a house
  • Pair roller trays
  • 1 piece of non-drying modeling clay
  • 6 small sandbags
  • 4 clothes pins
  • 6 large building blocks
  • paint stirrer
  • Plastic cups
  • water
  • shower curtain
  • towels

Set up:

  • Be sure the table is sturdy and water resistant. Place a shower curtain across the workspace
  • Fill a bucket with water
  • The paint tray should be placed so that it slopes lower towards the student
  • Place the materials near the paint tray
  • Depending on the size of your group, one or two students is ideal per station. Any more than four students is not ideal for the activity.

Directions for activity time in under 5 minutes:

  1. Explain to students that they will be building a home at the bottom of a sloped lot. Prompt them to think about what would happen to their home after heavy rainfall.
  2. Teach different methods of flood protection such as elevated foundations, sandbags, flood walls, and levees.
  3. Then, present the challenge of using the supplies to protect their home from flooding within only 2 minutes. Typically, the clips or blocks are used to elevate the home, and the sandbags, paint stirrer, and clay as a flood wall.
  4. Lastly, test the design by pouring a cup of water down the paint tray to determine success!

Directions for activity time in 15- 25 minutes:

  1. Explain to students that they will be building a home at the bottom of a sloped lot. Prompt them to think about what would happen to their home after heavy rainfall. (flood)
  2. Then, without any instruction, present the challenge of using the supplies to protect their home from flooding within only 3 minutes. After testing, this will typically lead to many flooded houses since no teaching has been done. To add time, have each group explain their model before testing.
  3. Teach different methods of flood protection such as elevated foundations, sandbags, floodwalls, and levees.
  4. Then, have the students complete the challenge again with their new knowledge and with 5 minutes total to make more detailed designs. Typically, the clips or bloks are used to elevate the home, and the sandbags, paint stirrer, and clay as a floodwall. (as well as bloks if not used for elevation)
  5. Lastly, test the design by pouring a cup of water down the paint tray to determine success! This time, students can describe what they did differently to their models than the first go round.
Flooded neighborhood.
7/26/2024 7:10:39 PM
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