BioEngineering Summer Camp 2023 Guest Blog - Max
A student-designed automated sprinkler system
I love teaching Applied STEM summer camps. It never ceases to amaze me what kids will dream up if you give them a problem, some tools and then get out of their way. These are two BioEngineering Summer Camp 2023 Guest Blogs that were shared with me today.
Children Own The Future By Embracing Today Their Way
It is remarkable to see your impact through the eyes of a kid. It's very important for me that you understand I presented a problem and these two created solutions that were manageable, doable, and sustainable. Creativity and problem-solving is an innate superpower of youth.
Max’s Automated Sprinkler System
This was Max’s design for the automated potager garden sprinkler. The requirements were:
A snapshot of Maxwell’s system
The sprinklers had to water the whole garden
The water had to be clearly monitored
The system could not use more than 3 gallons of water total on any one day
Water needed to come from the bioreactor
The entire array had to run on Solar, Wind, or Battery Power
I worked with my team to build this. We made a list of things for the design. It didn’t work. We need a stronger pump to get water that high.
Max and his plan view for the sprinklers
What I Did
I built an automatic garden sprinkler on top of the vertical raised garden. I buried hoses in holes to make a sprinkler system for the garden.
Things I Did Wrong And Fixed
But I made the hole to big and deep. So I had to dig it again, smaller and closer. Then I had to fix some stuff.
Sketch Something I Did
Max’s plan of his system
Editor's Note: Frankly I am blown away that he drew this from MEMORY! That lesson resonated with him. The plan view is a stroke of genius!
Fun I Had
Mezzacello is a cool urban farm place that grows lots of stuff.
This is a part of the City of Columbus Parks and Recreation Summer Grant Grant #1521-2023
