SciGirls Doghouse Design
Source Institutions
-
Twin Cities Public Television
Add to listGo to activity
This activity (on page 2 of the PDF) is a full inquiry investigation into absorption and reflection of radiant energy. In order to build a house that keeps a dog as cool possible in the heat, learners set up an experiment to find out if paint color effects temperature. Learners will paint shoe boxes with different colors. Then, they set thermometers inside to take initial readings and measure how the temperature of each box changes after 20 minutes under a heat lamp, comparing the sets of readings in a simple bar graph when they’re done. Relates to linked video, DragonflyTV GPS: Doghouse Design
- Under 5 minutes
- 2 to 4 hours
- $10 - $20 per group of students
- Ages 8 - 14
- Activity, Experiment/Lab Activity
- English
Quick Guide
Materials List (per group of students)
- two or three shoe boxes
- two colors of paint, one light (like pale yellow), one dark (like navy blue, or black)
- two heat lamps (use 250-watt infrared bulbs sold in most home hardware stores) and an adjustable light source (gooseneck desk lampswork great)
- two thermometers
Subjects
- Earth and Space Science
- Earth Processes
- Weather and Climate
- Solar System
- The Sun
- Earth Processes
- Engineering and Technology
- Engineering
- Architectural Engineering
- Civil Engineering
- Environmental Engineering
- Technology
- Construction
- Engineering
- Mathematics
- Data Analysis and Probability
- Data Analysis
- Data Collection
- Data Representation
- Measurement
- Rate
- Problem Solving
- Reasoning and Proof
- Representation
- Data Analysis and Probability
- Physical Sciences
- Heat and Thermodynamics
- Heat and Temperature
- Heat Transfer
- Energy
- Light and Optics
- Reflection and Refraction
- Sunlight and Color
- Heat and Thermodynamics
- The Nature of Science
- The Scientific Process
- About Inquiry
- Asking Questions
- Conducting Investigations
- Gathering Data
- Formulating Explanations
- Communicating Results
- The Scientific Process
- The Nature of Technology
- The Design Process
- Research and Development
- The Design Process
Informal Categories
- Animals
Audience
To use this activity, learners need to:
- see
- see color
- read
- touch
Learning styles supported:
- Involves teamwork and communication skills
- Uses STEM to solve real-world problems
- Involves hands-on or lab activities
Culture, ethnicity, and gender
Girls
- Highlights STEM opportunities for this group
- Identifies role models or mentors in STEM fields from this group
- Uses inclusive images of people from this group
Other
Components that are part of this resource:
This resource is part of:
Access Rights:
- Free access
By:
Source Collection:
- DragonflyTV
Rights:
- All Rights Reserved, Twin Cities Public Television, Inc., ©2006
Funding Source:
- National Science Foundation, 436260
