Microplastics Challenge

What To Do

Introduction (2-3 minutes)

“Welcome, everyone! At this station, we’re learning all about microplastics and their impact on our environment. Does anyone know what microplastics are?” (Allow students to respond)

Delivery Hint: If they don’t know, ask what the word “micro” means (something small that you need a microscope to see).

“Imagine you have a big bowl of water from a lake or a river. Now, imagine tiny, tiny pieces of plastic floating around in that water. These little pieces are called microplastics. They're so small that you can't really see them without special tools!

• Show picture of hand with microplastics and compare to the size of your hand.

Sometimes, these microplastics come from bigger pieces of plastic that break apart into smaller bits over time. Other times, they come from things like tiny beads in some soaps and even from the clothes we wear when they get washed in the washing machine.

Now, why are these microplastics a big deal? Well, think about the animals that live in the water, like fish and turtles. Sometimes, they might mistake these little bits of plastic for food. But when they eat them, it's not good for them. It can make them sick or even hurt them.

So, it's super important for us to learn about microplastics and do our best to keep them out of our lakes, rivers, and oceans. We can help by using less plastic, recycling what we can, and being careful about what we put down the drain. That way, we can keep our water clean and safe for all the animals that call it home!”

Microplastics in Fabric Guessing Game (3 minutes)

“Alright, imagine you're wearing your favorite shirt. Did you know that sometimes, when we wash our clothes, tiny little pieces can come off and go into the water? These tiny pieces can be microplastics!

Let's take a closer look at different kinds of clothes.”

• Pass the three labeled fabrics around

“Here, I have three different fabric samples: polyester, cotton, and wool. Each one feels different, right? Now, let's guess together which fabric might release tiny pieces, or microplastics, when washed.

Polyester is smooth and shiny, cotton is soft and fluffy, and wool is a bit fuzzy. Which one do you think might lose tiny pieces when washed? Take a guess!”

• Ask students to raise their hand for the one they think lets out more microplastics

“Now, let me tell you a secret: Polyester, that smooth and shiny fabric, is actually made of plastic! So when we wash polyester clothes, little bits of plastic, or microplastics, can come off and end up in the water, like in rivers and lakes.

Humans made polyester because it does a great job of keeping us dry. Did you know that our bathing suits are made of polyester? What happens when we go swimming at the lake on a hot summer day and come out for 20 minutes? Do we usually dry quickly? Yes! If we fell into the lake with a pair of jeans (which are made of cotton) we would be soaked for the whole day”

Cotton and wool are natural materials, so they don't add microplastics to the water like polyester does.”

 “What can we do to help keep microplastics from our clothes getting into our water?”

• Allow students to come up with their own solutions and help by prompting:
  • Okay, so we know that some fabrics might release tiny pieces into the water when we wash them. What are some things we could do to stop that from happening?
  • What are some choices you could make to help keep microplastics out of the water?"

Microplastics Challenge (10 minutes)

• Set up 3 pond stations with 3 tongs at each station. Ask the group to split up evenly at the stations.

“Let's pretend we're turtles swimming in a pond, looking for our favorite food (rice)! But, uh-oh, there's a problem. Our food is mixed with something it shouldn't be: tiny pieces of plastic (lentils).”

“Your job is to use these special 'turtle mouths' (tongs) to pick up as much rice as you can from the pond (container) and put it in your 'turtle stomachs' (cups), but be careful not to pick up any plastic! You only have 30 seconds to eat as much rice as you can.”

“After the timer goes off, we'll take a look at what you've eaten. We'll count how many pieces of rice you got, and how many pieces of plastic you accidentally ate. Then, we'll talk about what this means for real fish and turtles in the water.

Remember, turtles might think plastic is food, just like you might accidentally pick up plastic with your rice. But it's not good for them! So, let's see how well we can avoid the plastic and keep our 'turtle tummies' nice and healthy!"

Debrief (2-3 minutes)

1. How many of you have microplastics in your cups?
2. How did it feel to try and pick up rice while avoiding the plastic lentils? Was it easy or hard?
   Animals don’t know what plastic is and they don’t know that it is not food.
3. Why do you think it's important for us to try and keep plastic out of the water? What might happen if fish and turtles eat too much plastic?
   So that animals doesn’t get hurt or sick.
4. What are some things we can do to help keep plastic out of our rivers, lakes, and oceans?
   Use “solutions” image.
   Recycle, use less plastic, use a reusable water bottle, opt for natural fibres in clothing, use microplastics filter on washing machine.
   Continue to look for innovative solutions (Robofish that collects microplastics and companies who are engineering plastic replacements that are biodegradable in aquatic environments)