Labdisc (Globisens) iBlock Topics

Clean Water and Sanitation

iBlock Objective:

Across the globe, billions of people lack access to clean water. Among the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals, goal number six is to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.” Throughout this iBlock, students will explore where drinking water comes from, identify contaminants, and ultimately design and engineer their own water filtration system.

  • Grade Band: 6-8
  • Primary Focus: STEM, Science
  • Secondary Focus: Math
  • Additional Foci: Advanced Literacy, Transferable Skills, Social-Emotional Learning
  • Possible Suggested Technologies: 3D printer
  • Related Industry Sectors: Agriculture & Natural Resources; Energy, Environment, & Utilities


 

An iBlock matches skills to standards (like Common Core or NGSS).

Here is a sample content standard for this iBlock:

Typically, as human populations and per-capita consumption of natural resources increase, so do the negative impacts on Earth unless the activities and technologies involved are engineered otherwise. (Next Generation Science Standards, MS-ESS3-3; MS-ESS3-4

No Poverty and Zero Hunger

iBlock Objective:

When the United Nations created its Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, they stressed the importance of addressing world poverty and hunger. The first goal aims to eliminate poverty, while the second goal aims to end hunger, achieve food security, and promote sustainable agriculture. In this iBlock, students will work to help the UN achieve these goals by designing a window planter that will produce low-cost, high-yield crops in the most efficient manner possible.

  • Grade Band: 6-8
  • Primary Focus: STEM
  • Secondary Focus: Math
  • Additional Foci: Advanced Literacy, Transferable Skills, Social-Emotional Learning
  • Possible Suggested Technologies: 3D printer, Labdisc
  • Related Industry Sectors: Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources


 

An iBlock matches skills to standards (like Common Core or NGSS).

Here is a sample content standard for this iBlock:

Changes in biodiversity can influence humans’ resources, such as food, energy, and medicines, as well as ecosystem services that humans rely on—for example, water purification and recycling. (Next Generation Science Standards, MS-LS2-5)

River Management: Assessing Health

iBlock Objective:

What’s in the water? The world’s rivers and streams are a priceless resource, but various forms of pollution pose a threat to water quality. Scientists carry out studies to determine physical, chemical and biological characteristics of water to get an accurate understanding of water quality. It’s critical that we know the current status of water-quality conditions and how and why those conditions have been changing over time. With a better understanding of water quality, the growing need to protect the world’s water resources may be better understood. So how do scientists assess whether river ecosystems are being protected? What does it entail to study a river’s “health”? In this iBlock, students will engineer a device or system that will sample an environmental parameter that indicates water health.

  • Grade Band: 3-5
  • Primary Focus: Science
  • Secondary Focus: Social Studies
  • Additional Foci: Advanced Literacy, Transferable Skills, Social-Emotional Learning
  • Possible Suggested Technologies: Labdisc
  • Related Industry Sectors: Scientific Research & Engineering; Agriculture & Natural Resources; Energy, Environment, & Utilities


 

An iBlock matches skills to standards (like Common Core or NGSS).

Here is a sample content standard for this iBlock:

Obtain and combine information about ways individual communities use science ideas to protect Earth’s resources and environment. (5-ESS3-1)

Space Systems: Light and Shadows

iBlock Objective:

The Earth-Sun-Moon system impacts our tides, seasons, and perceptions of time. In ancient times, engineers created some of the very first tools to measure time, including the sundial. In this iBlock, students will be challenged to design their own device to track time. Using CAD software, they will first design, and then 3D print, their device.

  • Grade Band: 3-5
  • Primary Focus: Astronomy, 3D Printing
  • Secondary Focus: Engineering
  • Additional Foci: Advanced Literacy, Transferable Skills, Social-Emotional Learning
  • Possible Suggested Technologies: 3D printer, Labdisc
  • Related Industry Sectors: Scientific Research & Engineering


 

An iBlock matches skills to standards (like Common Core or NGSS).

Here is a sample content standard for this iBlock:

Represent data in graphical displays to reveal patterns of daily changes in length and direction of shadows, day and night, and the seasonal appearance of some stars in the night sky. (5-ESS1-2)

Labdisc (Globisens)