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: Exploring the Four Mile Watershed

Students and Energy Net Interns are checking out the new stream table.

Last week, the Energy Net interns and students explored the new stream table that has been loaned to the program by the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Geology and Planetary Science.  By playing with this table, the students were able to learn about how water carves a path through sediment. They also were able to observe how water travels underneath the ground. The stream table is filled with sand and then water is pumped through a tube onto the table.  After discussing what a model is and how they are useful, this table was a good way for the students to use an interactive model.

The Energy Net Interns are teaching the students how to read a topographic map

Before exploring the Four Mile Watershed on foot, the students and Energy Net Interns looked at a topographic map of the area.  The students learned how to read topographic maps and to identify where the Carnegie Museum is in the watershed. Teens learned to identify features like valleys, ridges, and hilltops. We then went for a walk to to find these features outside.

 

Students taking notes on a bridge in Schenley Park

We walked over to the bridge across Neville Street to explore a part of the Four Mile watershed. The teens took notes explaining any unique features the found in the watershed.  We went back to the museum to compiled their notes and form one big list of what makes our watershed unique. This list of features includes some things we might want to incorporate into our model of the Four Mile watershed.

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.

EXHIBIT OPENING DAY

The Energy-Net Summer Session comes to a close with the opening of the team's new exhibit,

"The Energy Water Nexus: Watt About It?"

Energy-Net Summer Session Final Week

Summer Session, Week 12

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

For the past few weeks, the Energy-Net teens have been working hard at designing an exhibit for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, and then bringing it to life through the creation of graphics and activities. The blog has been quiet during this process in order to keep the majority of the exhibit a surprise.

Now, we are happy to announce the title of our new exhibit:

"The Water Energy Nexus: Watt About It?"

The Energy-Net team would like to invite you and your family to the grand opening of our new exhibit on Saturday, August 31st at 1pm. Admission is free for up to 4 people with a printed flyer.

Week 8, July 25 and 26, Powdermill and Ohiopyle Camping Trip

On Thursday, July 25, we arrived early in the morning to pack our vans and leave the museum behind for CMNH's sister site, Powdermill nature reserve, and some other sites of interest on the way.

Our first stop was Valley School of Ligonier, PA. The school features a water wheel built on a creek near the school, which at one point in time was used to generate power for the nearby buildings. The creek was partially dammed, and the water directed so that its movement would cause the water wheel to rotate under its flow. At one point, the wheel was removed. Today, it is restored to its original place, but is purely for decoration on Valley School's grounds.

Next, we took a road trip over to Rolling Rock farms of Rector, PA. A Califonia iron furnace built in the mid-1800s still sits in the woods by Rolling Rock. Its location in the woods might seem a strange place to build an iron furnace, but there are very specific reasons as to why it was. The furnace itself is build close to a hill that is about level with the furnace's top. To its left, there sits a creek that had been redirected in the past to flow to a water wheel. The rotation of the wheel then caused a stoker to move up and down, inflating and deflating the bellows, which continuously supplied air to the burning fuel within the furnace, causing the temperature to rise. The fuel used in the iron furnace was wood, of which there was a great supply in the immediate area. Here, we stopped to do some water sample testing and eat lunch. RESULTS TO COME.

From there, we headed to Powdermill Nature Reserve's visitor's center, where we toured the Marsh Machine. Below, there is a video that explains how it collects waste water from the facility's bathrooms, and cleans it using no chemicals, just natural processes.

Next, we took a trip over to some acid mine drainage remediation ponds near the vistor's center. We tested the first pond and the last pond only, to see just how well these ponds clean the water that flows through them. RESULTS TO COME.

Our last stop of the day was to our cabin, Raven's Roost, at Powdermill Nature Reserve. There was a campfire, games, and of course, s'mores.

The next morning, only a few braved Powdermill's bird banding tour while the rest still slept. There, we learned how "mist nets" are used to capture birds early in the morning and they fitted with bands that each have a unique ID number, before being released. The bird banding program at Powdermill is focused on bird migration, and birds banded at Powdermill have been recaptured as far south as Peru and other parts of South America!

Later that day came the moment everyone was waiting for - Whitewater Rafting! The Energy-Net team braved 7.2 miles of the (mid-) Youghiogheny River in the Ohiopyle State Park to experience first-hand just how powerful water can be.

All photos from our trip can be viewed here