ScienceEngineeringMath

Water Infrastructure Commission

Grades 6-875-90 minSource: Creative Dad Company

Students design a simple water system for a pretend town. They balance the real costs of cleaning water and piping it to homes, and make sure every neighborhood gets fair access. It is civil engineering with a strong thread of fairness.

Budget levels

Amazon prices checked Oct 9-10, 2026 and may change

Materials links go to Amazon. Prices are estimates and may change. As an Amazon Associate, Creative Dad Company earns from qualifying purchases.

Quick Start

Digital downloads only.

$0 to buy. Printing noted separately.

Student time: one class period, one day.

Teacher prep / build-ahead: separate from student time.

Scale it

The default plan is one class period on a single day.

Scale back: Fit it into a shorter period, use fewer effects, or run a demo instead of a build.

Scale up: Add one extra effect, or spread the share-out across another day.

Ambiance video

Ambiance video coming soon from Creative Dad Studio

measuring cupBorrow or school hasuse what you have
stopwatchBorrow or school hasuse what you have
clarity rating cardPrintinguse what you have
decision matrix sheetPrintinguse what you have

Full Experience

Required materials for the class.

$33.08 per class (class of about 30, 6 groups). Exceeds $25 per class.

Classroom cardboard or boxes can lower the cost.

Student time: one day.

Teacher prep / build-ahead: separate from student time.

Scale it

The default plan is one school day.

Scale back: Fit the build into one period with fewer effects.

Scale up: Spread the work across days, or add more effects.

SandRequired1 x 50 lb bag50 lb bag$25.79Amazon
gravelRequired1 x 5 lb5 lb$7.29Amazon

Total Transformation

The bigger kit, with every optional item included.

$33.08 per class (class of about 30, 6 groups).

Student time: one day (one session, one-day event).

Teacher prep / build-ahead: separate from student time.

Scale it

The default plan is one session, a one-day event.

Scale back: Shorten the event, or run a demo for a smaller audience.

Scale up: Spread the build and the event across days, or invite a bigger audience.

Materials

Paper for town map and pipe network; Charcoal; Filters; Cup or bottle for the filter model; Cost figures for cleaning and piping; Sand; gravel; measuring cup; stopwatch; clarity rating card; decision matrix sheet

Materials links go to Amazon. Prices are estimates and may change.

As an Amazon Associate, Creative Dad Company earns from qualifying purchases.

Paper
Paper for town map and pipe network
No link
Charcoal
Charcoal
No link
Filters
Filters
No link
Cup or bottle for the filter model
Cup or bottle for the filter model
No link
Stopwatch
stopwatch
Shop

Steps

Sketch a pretend town map with neighborhoods at different distances from a water source and write criteria (clarity rating, liters per minute, fair access) and constraints (budget, available materials).
Build at least three model filter designs with different layer orders or materials (charcoal, sand, gravel, coffee filters). Test each with teacher-prepared non-potable model water and never drink it.
Record flow rate (time to filter 250 mL) and clarity (rate 1 to 5 against a printed scale or read through the cup) for each design.
Calculate treatment and pipe cost for each design to serve every neighborhood.
Score all designs in a decision matrix on clarity, flow, cost, and fair access, weighting the criteria, and total the scores.
Improve the top design's weakest score, retest it, and update the matrix.
Present the water plan to a pretend commission with the matrix and defend the engineering and fairness choices.

Standards mapped

NGSS · MS-ETS1-2
Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.