Created in 2012 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Comprehensive Initiative on Technology Evaluation (CITE) is the first-ever program dedicated to developing methods for product evaluation in global development. CITE produces technology evaluations that provide evidence for data-driven decision-making by development workers, donors, manufacturers, suppliers, and consumers themselves. In addition, CITE evaluations lead to significant developing insights, helping us better understand development challenges.

You are preparing your family’s emergency kits in case there is a need to leave your home quickly, or stay in your home without electricity or water. You need to be able to create an emergency supply kit that includes a lightweight water filtration device that is low cost. This will provide you with clean water regardless of your water source.

In this project, you will gain knowledge of natural disaster preparedness through the Red Cross Pillowcase project. You will research and experiment with the water cycle to learn how water is naturally filtered. You will then design and build a water filtration device that could filter water in an emergency situation.

Students gain a basic understanding of the properties of media soil, sand, compost, gravel and how these materials affect the movement of water (infiltration/percolation) into and below the surface of the ground. They learn about permeability, porosity, particle size, surface area, capillary action, storage capacity and field capacity, and how the characteristics of the materials that compose the media layer ultimately affect the recharging of groundwater tables. They test each type of material, determining storage capacity, field capacity and infiltration rates, seeing the effect of media size on infiltration rate and storage. Then teams apply the testing results to the design their own material mixes that best meet the design requirements. To conclude, they talk about how engineers apply what students learned in the activity about the infiltration rates of different soil materials to the design of stormwater management systems.

The Challenge:
The challenge is to design and build a water filtration device using commonly available materials. To meet this challenge,
students use an iterative repeating process as they build, test, and measure the performance of the filtration
device, analyze the data collected, and use this information to work towards an improved filtration design. It is the
same design process used by engineers and scientists working on ECLSS for NASA. Although students will work in
teams of two–three, they are encouraged to think of their entire class as a single design team working cooperatively
and learning from the efforts of all members in order to produce the best water filtration device.
Students measure the effectiveness of their filtration device using pH test strips. Detailed plans and a complete materials list are provided.

The Challenge:
The challenge is to design and build a water filtration device using commonly available materials. To meet this challenge, students use an iterative repeating process as they build, test, and measure the performance of the filtration
device, analyze the data collected, and use this information to work towards an improved filtration design. It is the
same design process used by engineers and scientists working on ECLSS for NASA. Although students will work in teams of two–three, they are encouraged to think of their entire class as a single design team working cooperatively and learning from the efforts of all members in order to produce the best water filtration device. Students measure the effectiveness of their filtration device using pH test strips. Detailed plans and a complete materials list are provided.

The Challenge:
The challenge is to design and build a water filtration device using commonly available materials. To meet this challenge,
students use an iterative repeating process as they build, test, and measure the performance of the filtration
device, analyze the data collected, and use this information to work towards an improved filtration design. It is the
same design process used by engineers and scientists working on ECLSS for NASA. Although students will work in
teams of two–three, they are encouraged to think of their entire class as a single design team working cooperatively
and learning from the efforts of all members in order to produce the best water filtration device.
Students measure the effectiveness of their filtration device using pH test strips. Detailed plans and a complete materials list are provided.

The Challenge:
The challenge is to design and build a water filtration device using commonly available materials. To meet this challenge, students use an iterative repeating process as they build, test, and measure the performance of the filtration
device, analyze the data collected, and use this information to work towards an improved filtration design. It is the
same design process used by engineers and scientists working on ECLSS for NASA. Although students will work in teams of two–three, they are encouraged to think of their entire class as a single design team working cooperatively and learning from the efforts of all members in order to produce the best water filtration device. Students measure the effectiveness of their filtration device using pH test strips. Detailed plans and a complete materials list are provided.

Engineers design and implement many creative techniques for managing stormwater at its sources in order to improve and restore the hydrology and water quality of developed sites to pre-development conditions. Through the two lessons in this unit, students are introduced to green infrastructure (GI) and low-impact development (LID) technologies, including green roofs and vegetative walls, bioretention or rain gardens, bioswales, planter boxes, permeable pavement, urban tree canopies, rainwater harvesting, downspout disconnection, green streets and alleys, and green parking. Student teams take on the role of stormwater engineers through five associated activities. They first model the water cycle, and then measure transpiration rates and compare native plant species. They investigate the differences in infiltration rates and storage capacities between several types of planting media before designing their own media mixes to meet design criteria. Then they design and test their own pervious pavement mix combinations. In the culminating activity, teams bring together all the concepts as well as many of the materials from the previous activities in order to create and install personal rain gardens. The unit prepares the students and teachers to take on the design and installation of bigger rain garden projects to manage stormwater at their school campuses, homes and communities.

Through relevant videos, connections to young adult literature, and hands-on exploration, students are introduced to the challenge of providing clean water and sanitation through a global lens.Additionally, students go on a “water walk” to experience the challenges that some people face each day as they locate and collect clean water.The goal of the unit is to ground the activities in a culture of empathy. Furthermore, students participate in an engineering design challenge in which they build a water filter that is both cost-efficient and effective in changing the pH and turbidity of the water samples.Finally, students have the opportunity to share their learning with peers and local experts through a sales presentation as they pitch their device and findings.Standards:CCSS English Language Arts (Grade 7)CCSS Math (Grade 7)Ohio Standards for Science (Grade 7)