Last Day! Putting the Exhibit Together

We did a lot of organizing and shifting of materials in order to get ready for the exhibit that opens on Sunday (April 13, by the way!)

The rain garden group with their final product!

A teen in the playhouse, demonstrating what the kids will do.

The students took all of the materials up to the exhibit space and putt all of the big parts together. The only things we have left are a few signs and the big opening!

Transporting some materials.

The students also participated in some experiments and then decided on their favorite so we could have it set up for opening day.

Cameron doing experiments with students.

Check out what we have so far but come see the final product on Sunday!

Kaleen and Nadin hanging up some signs.

Week 7: Non-Profit Activity & Finalizing Mock Ups

Today we did an activity to learn more about non-profit organizations in the city and what a non-profit does. For the activity the teens worked in small groups and imagined that they were employees for 3 Rivers Wet Weather. Each group came up with a plan to solve Pittsburgh's combined sewer overflow problem. The three groups came up with some good ideas for solving the problem that included a greenway along the rivers, storage tanks under parking lot, replacing leaking pipes, and providing discounted rain barrels.

Presenting our stormwater solution plans.

The second half of class was spent in project groups for the exhibit. The teens worked on finalizing their mock up plans so we can get ready to send things to the printer for the big opening. The video project group also learned more about filming as well as editing the clips together.

Interview practice to prep for interviewing our Green Professionals.

The house and rain barrel group measured the house so we can get gutters to add and they worked on the rain gardens that will accompany the house.

We've gathered most of the supplies for the house.

Week 4: Get Creative Challenge & Exhibit Brainstorming

Today we warmed up with a couple of fun activities and we got a chance to write to our Professional Pen Pals.  After we got the creative juices flowing we began brainstorming in small groups about our new mission statement which allowed us to narrow down what the new and improved exhibit will focus on.

Energy Net teens asking questions to our Professional Pen Pals

Next, we took a trip upstairs to visit our current exhibit in order to think about what we would like to change and improve upon for the upcoming months. The teens instantly picked out many things that they feel didn't work well in the current exhibit and they had a lot of creative and helpful suggestions to make it better.

Sticky notes with ideas to improve the exhibit

Then we went back downstairs to brainstorm in small groups. This time each group was given a topic to think about and then come up with an idea for the exhibit that would better explain the topic to the visitors of the museum.

Brainstorming creative ideas to enhance our current exhibit. 

Week 3: Audio and Interview Practice

Today the folks from Pittsburgh Film Makers lead an audio workshop for the teens. Teens learned the basics including how to set up all the equipment, types of microphones, and the jobs and roles of the camera crew. Jobs included a camera operator, audio tech, interviewer, director, and director's assistant.

Learning how to set up the camera microphones. 

With all the basics down, the teens rotated through three interview stations.The interview stations were positioned in locations where the teens had to overcome a filming challenge. Challenges included poor lighting, a busy space, and a lot of background noise. Solutions included adjusting the camera position and white balance and using a boom microphone to remove background noise. 

Geosquad at the poor lighting interview station.

At the end of the day, we watched and critiqued each group's video. The next step is to conduct our first interview with an environmental professional. Happy filming!

Week 2: Filming in the Snow

Today we learned how to film efficiently. Trica and Louis from Pittsburgh Film Makers gave a workshop on strategies for effective films. The teens learned how to use a camera, how to set up the tripod, different film terms, and types of shots. 

Practice using a video camera.

The teens also practiced making a short film about snow. They interviewed each other and made some b-roll shots. Some of the teens showed their videos in class and we critiqued their films.

Teens being interviewed about snow.

Post by: Ian Benjamin, Isaiah, Krissy, and special guest Kat.

Week 6: Planning out the components of the exhibit

On Thursday, we discussed what types of things we wanted to include in our exhibit.  The teens came up with ideas such as making the exhibit more interactive, but also making sure the games will not be confusing. We also looked at the exhibit from the previous Energy Net session to see how we would utilize that space and improve upon the previous teen's work.

Energy Net members discuss and plan what they want to create

A teen and Energy Net Intern measure the size of one of the tables currently in the exhibit space to ascertain how much space they have for the new components of the exhibit

The students then broke up into teams to work on the different aspects of the exhibit. The students wrote out a title for each exhibit component, what their aspect of the exhibit would be, what materials they would need, and what they wanted the museum visitors to get from their portion of the exhibit.

One group of teens are working in a group to draw out what they want to include in the exhibit.

Week 5: Model Making and Halloween

Today is Halloween! A few of the teens came to Energy Net in costume! We celebrated with candy and then the team got down and dirty making models for the December exhibit.

Some of the teens dressed up for Halloween. Lyza was terrifying!

The teens came up with two main activities for the exhibit. The first activity is to make a 3D model of the Four Mile watershed. One group of teens came up with some initial ideas and materials to make a 3D landscape model with hills and valleys. They used a cardboard box, cardboard pieces, brown paper, and tape to form hills and valleys. This is a great start for the model! In the next version the teens want to use a topographic map of the watershed to make the model more realistic.

The beginnings of a 3D watershed model.

The second exhibit activity allows visitors to create a sustainable city. A city diorama with roads and buildings will cover part of the exhibit floor. Visitors will then place green roofs, rain gardens, and rain barrels inside the city and learn how much water the sustainable practices can capture. Visitors will also compare the costs of each practice to choose the most cost effective option.

The teens also played around with using water to show how green roofs and rain barrels soak up and store water. They constructed a model house (cottage cheese container) with tubes as downspouts connected to rain barrels (cups). A sponge on the roof represented a green roof.

Model of a house with a sponge green roof and cups as rain barrels.

Week 5: Model Planning

This week, the EnergyNet team dove into exhibit planning. After breaking up into groups, each team planned a "Big Idea" to relay to museum guests. The main themes include: an activity to highlight sustainable water management, a watershed model to demonstrate where the water flows, and an overall informative display as to why this is important. From now on, we are working hard to materialize these ideas.

EnergyNet Teens trying testing out a model for inspiration.

Our wonderful exhibit helper, Maryann, brought a previously used model to help the teens visualize some design ideas. The model demostrates combined-sewer overflow, a common problem in Pittsburgh, and how/if green infrastructure remediates this problem.


The video above displays one of the ideas present by the teens. Their goal is to educate the visitors about sustainable practices to slow down the water and use it productively. These techniques will capture water at the site and be used as opposed to running off into the sewer systems.

Stay tuned for the models created by the EnergyNet crew!

Week 4: Modeling Sustainable Practices

We kicked off the afternoon by learning about the different land surfaces in the Four Mile Watershed. The teen colored in pie charts showing the proportion of different surfaces in the Four Mile watershed. We learned that 40% of the watershed is covered by trees, but 33% of the watershed is impervious surfaces. The impervious surfaces include rooftops 16%, roads 14%, and parking lots 3% of the land surface. All these impervious surfaces move water and pollution quickly into the combined sewer system.

The teens learned trees cover 40% of the watershed and impervious surfaces cover 33%.

The teens then moved to two stations. At the first station the teens learned how much water gravel, pebbles, and sand can store and how quickly water drains through these materials. We learned that gravel stores the least amount of water and water drains quickest through gravel. Sand stores the most water and water drains slowest through sand. These characteristics make sand a good material to use when creating sustainable stormwater practices.

Water storage and drainage activity using gravel, pea pebbles, and sand.

At the second station the teens used materials to recreate the sustainable practices we saw on Tuesday. Teens used sponges and felt to construct rain gardens and green roofs, plastic sheets to represent roadways, and legos to make buildings. 

Sponges demonstrate the benefits of green roofs.

After experimenting with different materials the teens presented their best ideas to the group. This video shows one group's idea to use plastic sheets as roadways and sponges to represent previous pavement. They demonstrate the benefit of the pervious pavement by dumping water on the two surfaces. Next week we will continue to develop these ideas for our museum exhibit.

Week 3: Brainstorming Four Mile Run Watershed Problems

Teens sketched out their watershed problems.

Today kicked off with the teens reviewing information they learned so far about the Four Mile watershed. The teens reviewed how water flows through the watershed, with water draining down from the hilltops to the valleys and eventually to the Monongahela River. The watershed also contains a lot of impervious, hard surfaces such as roads and rooftops. Curbs and storm drains connect the hard surfaces to the combined sewer system. When it rains road runoff picks up pollutants and trash and transports it downstream.

A play dough model explaining how trash gets into a stream or river.

After the review, the teens formed four groups to brainstorm environmental problems in the Four Mile watersheds. Each group came up with a specific water problem and constructed a diagram or model to communicate the problem. Most of the groups focused on urban flooding or trash and pollution. One group of teens used play dough, colored paper, and toothpicks to create a model showing how trash gets into the river. The green play dough represents a forested watershed with no trash in the stream. As the stream flows through an urban area (orange play dough) trash washes into the stream. The teens suggested solving this problem by encouraging residents to recycle.

A model showing how trash and leaves can clog sewer lines.

Another group created a model explaining how trash and leaves can clog sewer lines. The teens used a piece of felt to represent a roadway and a clear plastic tube to represent a sewer pipe. To represent a clogged sewer line the teens added cotton balls and large fabric leaves to the plastic sewer tube. This clog blocks the flow of water and could cause flooding on the street.

At the end of the activity the teens presented their problems and models to the group. This activity will help the teens think about effective ways to communicate their ideas to other people. A skill that will come in handy when they are designing their exhibit.

Week 2: Water Testing

Students measuring the amount of chlorine in water samples

On Thursday, the students measured the quality of water samples from our watershed.  Beforehand, we made a chart of different potential water contaminants, sources of them, whether they were positive or negative for our environment, and what we thought should be a desired level for those contaminants in the water.  The students then rotated through stations where they tested the pH, chlorine level, and the amount of nitrogen in the water.  After measuring the amount of a particular pollutant, the students recorded the value and tried to filter the water or alter it so that the water would become less contaminated.  For instance, at the pH station, students added baking soda, a base, to very acidic water to form a buffer.  Other filters included a Brita filter and a student-created filter with sediment. The students measured their sample after filtering it to see if the filtration made a difference in the water quality.

An intern showing the students how to determine the amount of chlorine in water samples

A student filtering a water sample from Panther Hollow, an area in our watershed.

After compiling their data, the students determined that the most effective filtering method was making the water neutral using an acid or a base in order to form a buffered solution.

Week 2: The Great Pipe Race

Students participating the the Great Pipe Race

Today the students and Energy Net Interns worked on an activity called the Pipe Race.  During this activity, we put 2 cups of water through funnels attached to pipes of varying diameters and measured how long it took the water to drain out.  The students put the result up on the board to compare how the diameter varied with the drainage rate.

One of the students and an EI putting the results of the race up on the board

After a series of 3 trials, we determined that water flows faster through pipes with greater diameters.  We then connected this idea to the pipes present in our watershed by looking at a map with the width of the sewer pipes underground in the Four Mile watershed.  The teens traced the path water would flow from the museum downhill to the Monongahela River.

Two of the students locating a manhole during the scavenger hunt

The final activity for the day was the Water Scavenger Hunt.  We divided up into four groups and searched the area surrounding the Carnegie Museum for manholes, storm drains, fountains, and fire hydrants. We were looking for things water can enter into the sewer system, such as storm drains, and locations where water comes out, such as fountains.  We marked the location of each feature on a map and tallied the results. We found over 30 storm drains and over 30 manholes. There were only three fire hydrants and half a dozen fountains.

Teens and the Schenley fountain.

Week 1: Introduction to Sustainability

Energy-Net students try out their modeling skills in order to solve an environmental problem.

We welcome back Energy-Net interns and students for a semester dedicated to sustainability in watersheds. The team will learn about watersheds, explore CMNH's own watershed, Four Mile Run, and design a creative exhibit displaying what we learned. The first day, we talked about sustainability, then went even further by creating models. The students were presented with environmental issues they had to solve: asthma related to diesel emissions, an invasive species attacking oak trees, polluted rivers, and clogged sewers. Students came up with sustainable solutions in the form of a model and presented to the class.

Energy-Net Students presenting their solutions to an environmental problem.

This activity was used to introduce students to model making in preparation for our final exhibit, a large model representing a watershed. Through the fall term, students will continue to learn about watersheds and sustainable ways to better manage water.

Week 6, July 18 2013, Water Sample Testing

Summer Session, Week 6

Thursday, July 18, 2013

Our water testing kit has finally arrived in the mail. So far, we had collected 8 water samples.

The full list of samples is below:

1. Phipps Run stream at GPS location N 40°26'16.1" W 079°56'45.60" (June 18 2013)
2. Panther Hollow stream at GPS location N 40°26'11.6" W 079°56'43.40" (June 18 2013)
3. Presque Isle, Lake Erie at GPS location N 44°40'47.8" W 081°01'88.50" (July 5 2013)
4. East Springfield, well water, at GPS location N 42°08'67.8" W 080°08'26.50" (July 6 2013)
5. East Springfield, Lake Erie, at GPS location N 42°00'23.00" W 080°26'46.40" (July 6 2013)
6. East Springfield, Elk Creek, at GPS location N 42°01'32.00" W 080°22'48.70" (July 6 2013)
7. East Springfield, Elk Creek, at GPS location N 41°59'51.60" W 080°1907.40" (July 6 2013)
8. Ocean City, Maryland

(Position formats for all sites are hddd°mm'ss.s" , Map Datum WGS 84, Map Spheroid WGS 84)

We then took these 8 samples and tested them for: dissolved oxygen, chlorine, nitrate, phosphate, turbidity, ammonia nitrogen, and pH.

Results:

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Dissolved Oxygen	3.9 ppm 26%saturation	6.4 ppm 50% sat.	7.2 ppm 60% sat.	7.2 ppm 60% sat.	7.6 ppm 62% sat.	7.2 ppm 60% sat.	6.4 ppm 50% sat.	6.6 ppm 52% sat.
Chlorine	< 0.2 ppm	< 0.2 ppm	<0.2 ppm	< 0.2 ppm	< 0.2 ppm	< 0.2 ppm	< 0.2 ppm	< 0.2 ppm
Nitrate	< 1 ppm	1 ppm	< 0.2 ppm	< 0.2 ppm	0.2 ppm	0.4 ppm	0.4 ppm	0.6 ppm
Phosphate	< 0.2 ppm	< 0.2 ppm	< 0.2 ppm	< 0.2 ppm	< 0.2 ppm	< 0.2 ppm	< 0.2 ppm	< 0.2 ppm
Turbidity	0 JTU	2.5 JTU	0 JTU	5 JTU	0 JTU	3 JTU	5 JTU	0 JTU
Ammonia Nitrogen	1 ppm	2 ppm	0 ppm	1 ppm	1 ppm	0 ppm	0 ppm	1 ppm
pH	6.5	6.5	6.5	5.5	6.5	6	6.5	6.5

Week 2, June 13 2013, Pollutant Lists

Summer Session, Week 2
Thursday, June 13, 2013

Today, we had to switch our original plans around because of inclement weather. Instead of taking a walk and exploring the Panther Hollow watershed near the museum, we stayed inside and explored what pollutants exist in water, as well as their sources, specific impacts on water, if they're regulated, whether the regulations are for surface or drinking water, etc.

We first attempted to guess the answers by hypothesizing what sources each pollutant could come from as well as their effects on water quality by using any previous knowledge we had. Each of these educated guesses was assigned a color-coded sticker for confidence. Then, we began research online to confirm or refute each.

This was a chance to sharpen first our critical thinking skills, and then our Internet research skills.

The finished product was a poster-sized grid of information about each pollutant in water that we will be testing this summer. We then copied it into our field notebooks for future reference. It will come in handy later when we begin to form hypotheses about the water we will study.

Week 2, June 11, 2013, Allegheny vs. Monongahela Rivers

Summer Session, Week 2
Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Today, we focused on how to read topography maps of our area. Our first exercise was to draw our local watershed by locating our house on topo maps of Pittsburgh and its suburbs and predicting where and how water would flow, given the geography shown on the maps.

Some pointers for reading topo maps are:

• Elevation = increase in the amount or level of something (100 feet, 100 meters, etc; scales may change for each map)
• Waterways "point" upstream
• Close lines = steep slopes
• Far lines = gradual slope

Our next activity involved finding and reporting differences between the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River, which meet at The Point in downtown Pittsburgh and form the Ohio River. We used our Internet research skills to find facts about the rivers, including:

• Length
• Area
• Number of Electrical Generating Units (EGU's) there are
• Locations of their headwaters
• How many locks and dams there are
• How many people live in their watersheds
• What industrial plants there are in their watersheds
• Which river's water would you prefer to drink, given the above information?

Week 1, June 4 2013, Summer Session Begins

Summer Session, Week 1
Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Our teens return!

Our summer session starts today, and the focus of this session is "Water and Energy".

We started today's session by speaking with Mary Ann, Dr. Dan Bain and Dr.Emily Elliot, Energy-Net's stakeholders. They act as our clients, and our job is to create an exhibit on water and energy,which will be completed on August 31, 2013.

Today, we explored watersheds and watershed terms by creating our own using a tarp and a kiddie pool. Topography was created by placing newspaper, egg cartons and other materials underneath. This demonstrated natural topography such as that of the eastern coast of the United States like mountains and valleys, rivers and an ocean. When it "rained" via spray bottle, it could be seen that water would readily run down the impermeable surface of the tarp and into streams, then into rivers before it finally settles into the ocean. We determined that water flows from high elevation to low elevation and that there were actually two watersheds in our experiment.

The introduction of towels to act as permeable surfaces such as forests, parks and yards was seen to have an effect on how the water in each watershed behaved. Furthermore, more materials were dispersed onto the tarp to act as pollutants, such as cocoa powder for dry deposition, dyed water for wet deposition, and dish soap for oil runoff. The permeable surfaces were able to stop some, but not all of the pollutants from being swept downstream and into the ocean.

All photos from this session can be viewed here

Week 9: Minerals and Alternative Energies Exploration

Deb Wilson, an assistant collections manager and mineral photographer, came to our Energy-Net meeting today to provide us with some information about minerals and their uses. When we came in, Deb had a slide show of beautiful pictures of minerals, and we could try our hand at identifying the minerals on the screen. Just incase we got frustrated, she had a list for us. After we spent some time viewing the slide show and magazines she brought in, she showed us some samples of specific minerals. We were able to touch some of the samples she brought as she told us some practical uses for each mineral. Some of the uses we were able to guess, but some were very surprising. She also told us a little about how certain minerals were mined or gathered.

Once we finished looking at the samples and asking any questions we had, Deb took us upstairs to explore the Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems. It was amazing! We were all very surprised by how large the exhibit was. It is right across from the Paleolab and easy to walk right past. Trust us, the next time you are at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History you do not want to miss it!

There were so many mineral specimens to browse. We had a great time deciding what some of them looked like. One looked like a porcupine! The colors in there were amazing, too. Many of the minerals were very brightly colored. Deb told us that all of the specimens in the hall were real and not a recreation. It was amazing to see the beauty that nature can create.

We spent a long time browsing the gallery and then made our way back down to the classroom. Once there, Angela had a slideshow for us to view about how minerals and energy impact our life every minute of every day. It was mind boggling to see all of the minerals and energy required just to use your alarm in the morning! This led into our discussion of alternative energies.

The EI's did a presentation on the various aspects of wind turbines. We looked at the energy involved in building a wind turbine/wind farm, the energy payback period for the construction, and the impact wind farms can have on wildlife species. The wind turbines have been thought to kill large numbers of birds following their migration patterns.

For the next two weeks we will  be working very hard to brainstorm and create our exhibit showcasing everything we have learned this past semester. Our exhibit opens on April 20th so we have some work to do!

Week 8: Dr.I Interview and Abandoned Mine Drainage

On March 28, we were lucky enough to have the opportunity to talk with Dr. Anthony Iannacchione. Dr. I is a professor at the University of Pittsburgh, and he is also the director of the Mining Engineering Program in the Swanson School of Engineering.

We took advantage of our opportunity to talk with Dr. I by asking him some questions we were curious about. First, we discussed his background and the many years he has spent on his education. He told us a little about his work history and experience with mining and also about his experiences as a professor.

Dr. I has given many talks and presentations throughout the years. Recently, he has spoken about using abandoned mine drainage from coal mines for the water necessary for hydraulic fracturing for natural gas extraction. Naturally, we had many questions about this process and how it could work!

After our time talking with Dr. I, we attempted to remediate some water that was impacted by AMD. We had bottles of water gathered by Marion, and we used pH strips to test the pH of the water. Before we changed anything, the water was slightly acidic with a pH of 6. To see if we could bring the water to a more neutral pH level, we added calcite. Calcite is frequently used to help raise an acidic substance to a neutral pH. With the calcite added, we then tested the water again. The pH only increased very slightly. It was evident that a change did occur, but not enough of a change to be at a completely neutral pH. The results were not exactly what we expected, but that is science!

Next week were are looking forward to touring the Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems. We will be able to learn more about mineral uses in our everyday life and the energy involved!

Week 7: Emily Mercurio and Marcellus Shale

 Week 7 entailed a talk from Emily Mercurio, a geologist at Cabot Gas, about natural gas drilling on Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania. Cabot Gas is a natural gas extraction company that uses the technique of  hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" to recover gas about 5,000 feet below the Earth's surface. She explained the technique that they use in order to extract the gas, and the regulations and equipment associated with it. In a nutshell:

1. Regulations are discussed between the land owner and the drilling company
2. A drilling pad is established on a plot of land (either private or public)
3. Check underground conditions
4. Safety precautions
5. Drilling process

Much to many of our suprise, we found that the drilling process is much safer than we expected. Often times we hear about fracking contaminating water sources, but it is actually the drilling process that is inclined to influence pollution. When natural gas is extracted, and the pipe it is coming out of isn't sealed properly, it could seep into the groundwater system. Other sources of pollution are the chemicals that are used in the fracking water. Water is needed to create pressure in the ground to extract the gas, and if the fracking water isn't contained and treated it can have negative effects on the environment. Next week we plan to talk to Marc and Deb Wilson, the CMNH mineralogist and photographer, about minerals!