By Jay Droeger, 7/8th Grade Lead Teacher
Our Seventh and Eighth Grade Design Class tackled the challenge of creating a better mouse trap – live and cruelty-free! With our school located on an amazing 26 acres of land, including fields, a grove, a pond and running water, it is natural that on occasion, in the winter, a mouse will venture in to find a warm place to spend the night. Obviously, we want to discourage this behavior. Yet, while we don’t want mice in the building this winter, we all agreed that we also don’t want to kill the little guys.
The parameters for the project were:
– traps must be able to capture multiple mice without the need for a person resetting the trap
– traps must be cruelty-free
– traps must have at least one moving part
The students began by working individually to brainstorm ideas and
sketch out their plans. Then they came together in small groups to
discuss their ideas and share thoughts. Next they were turned loose
in our Design Lab where their ideas took form in five, innovative
contraptions.
The students placed the traps throughout the school building; hopefully the mice will stay outside where they belong, but, just in case, we are confident these innovative traps will get the job done!
