Beacon eighth-graders create solar water stills

Blending science, engineering and environmental awareness, students at Beacon Middle School recently completed a hands-on class project focused on researching, designing and building solar water stills, simple devices that use sunlight to purify water through distillation.

Led by long-term substitute Leah Schessel, eighth-grade students have explored various topics in the adventure/survival unit, from debating survival scenarios to solving resource scarcity problems and learning navigational skills. “The students have really engaged with this topic, and it’s been exciting hearing them reason through various scenarios,” said Schessel. “I am really looking forward to seeing how well the solar stills work.”

Teams of students researched various designs, from basic basin-type stills to more advanced pyramid-shaped models. Using affordable materials like plastic containers, black garbage bags for heat absorption, clear plastic wrap for condensation, and collection cups, they built prototypes in the classroom to see which design proved most effective for collecting clean, drinkable water. Brody Godbout and Elijah Cain used a black garbage bag in their design. “The black color will attract more heat and increase the condensation,” said Brody. 

Trying a different theory, Evan Steele said, “I think keeping it all clear will increase the sun’s rays on the water.” Evan worked with classmates Kai Mears and Blake Jarecki on a group design.

The project not only reinforced concepts in physics (heat transfer and evaporation) and chemistry (distillation), but also promoted critical thinking and engineering skills. With class discussions focused on water scarcity awareness and the importance of access to clean water, building the solar stills made up just one component of a larger unit of study.

“In the next weeks, students will move into a more creative take on the survival theme by creating their own survival guides,” said Schessel.