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Down the Drain

In Down the Drain challenge, students must design and build a tool capable of retrieving an important lost object from a simulated storm drain—without using their hands. Using only everyday recycled materials, they’ll explore engineering, problem-solving, forces, and creative design as they test and improve their rescue device.

Elementary

Engineering design, measurement

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Project Details

Theme

December | Product Design

Messy Level

1

Suggested Location

Lab

Prep & Classroom Structure


Parent presents a problem and showcases two buckets with some personal items that fell down a "drain." Students have 15 min to design their solution, take measurements and then use another 15 min to gather materials & create clasp to pick up 1 or 2 items within 30 secs. They will keep making adjustments to their design as they test each time. You can have them watch the video below to go over the steps of engineering a solution.


Prepare the “storm drains” ahead of time using trash cans, buckets, or sturdy containers with a cardboard lid placed over the top. Cut several openings or slits into each lid that are large enough for student-made tools to pass through, but small enough that students cannot simply reach inside.


Set up the room before students arrive by placing one lost object inside each storm drain and organizing building supplies into easy-to-access bins or stations. Good materials include cardboard tubes, cups, string, pipe cleaners, paper clips, rubber bands, clothespins, utensils, cardboard scraps, and other recyclable materials.


A few additional prep tips:


  • Pre-cut difficult materials such as thick cardboard, wire, or long pieces of string to reduce downtime.

  • Create a sample object set with items of different shapes and challenges, such as keys, a toy phone, bracelet, small ball, or wallet.

  • Do not build a finished example tool for students; showing one can unintentionally limit their creativity. Instead, show the materials and explain that tools might grab, hook, scoop, pinch, or lift.

  • Test the challenge yourself beforehand to make sure each object can realistically be retrieved through the openings.

  • Label material stations so students can independently find and return supplies.

  • Plan teams of 2–3 students so everyone has a role in brainstorming, building, and testing.

  • Have extra materials nearby for redesigns, especially string, rubber bands, pipe cleaners, and paper clips.

  • Consider giving each team a simple planning sheet where they sketch their idea before building.

  • Set up a designated testing area so only one or two teams are testing at a time while others continue improving their designs.

  • For younger students, use shallower buckets and larger openings to make the challenge more achievable.


Here are more instructions and visuals:


Materials

  • Cardboard

  • Toilet paper or paper towel tubes

  • Paper plates

  • Plastic cups

  • Plastic utensils

  • Wire hangers

  • Egg cartons

  • String

  • Pipe cleaners

  • Clothespins

  • Paper clips

  • Rubber bands

  • Trash cans or paint buckets to represent storm drains

  • Cardboard lids with openings/slits

  • Small “lost” objects to retrieve, such as keys, a wallet, toy phone, bracelet, or other classroom-safe items

Project Instructions

  • Introduce the challenge: an important item has accidentally fallen into a storm drain, and students must rescue it without reaching inside.

  • Divide students into pairs and assign each team one lost item to retrieve.

  • Show students the available “dumpster materials” they may use to engineer a retrieval tool.

  • Explain the main rules: students may not touch the storm-drain lid or put their hands inside, and any tool dropped into the drain must also be retrieved with another tool.

  • Give teams a few minutes to discuss their idea and sketch or describe their plan.

  • Students select materials and build a device that can hook, grab, scoop, pinch, or lift their assigned object.

  • Avoid tape and glue if you want to increase the engineering challenge; students must instead use connections such as string, rubber bands, pipe cleaners, paper clips, or interlocking parts.

  • Give teams approximately 15 minutes to build their device.

  • Clean up unused materials before testing.

  • Give each team approximately 2 minutes to retrieve its item from the storm drain. The object must be completely above the drain lid before students can grab it.

  • After testing, discuss what worked, what failed, and how students would redesign their tool.

Class Video

Please share with teacher ahead of session:



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