Description
Design Step 2 involved digging deeper into our project and figuring out more of the specific details that will be going into it. We did a lot of brainstorming and a lot of revising our older assignments. This step was a lot of work because we had to do the drawing and sketching tutorials at the same time, making it a mix of group and individual work.
Alternative Concepts Brainstorm
The alternative concepts brainstorm helped us to expand our thinking about our project. We used padlet to create many ideas about different ways that we could solve the problem. Our top ideas are the ones highlighted at the top. They include a dome with an underground living area, a house inside of a dome, and multiple domes connected by airlocks. Coming up with different variations allows us to explore multiple options and find the best one.
Functional Decomposition
For the functional decomposition assignment we used coggle to breakdown all the necessary components of our project. A habitat that allows people to live safely on Mars has to solve many different problems. Our habitat will have to include a power source, a method of farming or growing food, an airlock to allow the people to enter and exit safely, protection from the elements, a consistent and comfortable temperature, protection from radiation due to the thin atmosphere on Mars, a reliable air supply, sunlight, and a comfortable place for the inhabitants to live.
Project Proposal Presentation
The next part of step 2 was to present our project proposals to our mentor, Marissa Rosenberg, the STEM coordinator, and our classmates. We created a slideshow that summarized our project proposal and preliminary survey results, and included images and our own sketches to make it a more captivating presentation.
Survey Results
We sent our survey out to students at our school, parents, and engineers on the provided list of possible mentors. Once we had gotten a decent amount of responses we analyzed the results to figure out how to improve our project. There were a lot of people that were interested in space travel, but a smaller amount of people that were willing to actually live on Mars. However there were enough people to provide a viable market for this project. After analyzing the survey results we used that information to improve our demand and wishlist.
Classification Scheme
The classification scheme expanded on the brainstorming that we did for the alternative concepts and functional decomposition assignments. We created a table that combined our 4 alternative concepts and all of the necessary components to our project. Then, we brainstormed different solutions to each problem. We selected the most promising solutions and combined them all into 3 different total concepts. The next step will be to add sketches to the table in the classification scheme and get feedback on it from our mentors. Then we will be ready to make sketches of our total concepts.
Revised Project Proposal
The last thing that we worked on for this design step was revising our project proposal. We discussed areas to improve with one of our mentors and used the information from our survey analysis to create a better project proposal. Some of the things that we added are the length of time that the habitat will be used and some of the specific scientific concepts that we are researching and will potentially be used in our project.
Reflection
This step was very difficult to manage considering that my group went into it behind. Despite that, we managed to pull together and get most of the assignments done. One of my strengths during this step was my ability to get my group to start working. Sometimes it could get a little overwhelming with all the assignments that we had to do, but I was usually able to find find the most important assignment and get my group to focus on that. I was also able to get things done very quickly. Instead of overthinking stuff I just got my ideas down on the paper and turned it in.
One thing that was still a problem was procrastination. I left the drawing tutorials until the very end, which made it a lot of work. I was so focused on helping to get all the group assignments done the individual work seemed less important until I was almost at the deadline. Despite the limited amount of time I had I was still able to get them all done and learn a few things about drawing and sketching.
One thing that was still a problem was procrastination. I left the drawing tutorials until the very end, which made it a lot of work. I was so focused on helping to get all the group assignments done the individual work seemed less important until I was almost at the deadline. Despite the limited amount of time I had I was still able to get them all done and learn a few things about drawing and sketching.