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Sustainable STEM: Fabulous Fabrics

Sustainable STEM: Fabulous Fabrics
Contributors
Beyond Benign
Beyond Benign, Inc.
Annette Sebuyira
Retired K-12 Educator | Beyond Benign, Inc.
cover image with picture of shark and leaf and mushrooms and megaphone and a hand holding a cellphone
Summary
Students will consider the difference between natural and synthetic fibers and investigate the ways that a variety of fabrics will interact with both basic and acidic dyes.

This project came about from a collaboration between Beyond Benign and Steelcase.
Keywords
Dyeability
Fabrics
Sustainable Design
Sustainable STEM
Natural Fibers
Synthetic Fibers
Steelcase
pH

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Moderation state
Published
Object Type
Laboratory experiment
Activities/Technology (e.g., in-class activities, online games, hands-on activities/manipulatives, outreach, virtual tools, etc.)
Case studies
Audience
Middle School
Published on
Green Chemistry Principles
Waste Prevention
Less Hazardous Chemical Syntheses
Designing Safer Chemicals
Safer Solvents and Auxiliaries
Reduce Derivatives
U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Quality Education
Reduced Inequalities
Partnerships for the Goals
NGSS Standards, if applicable
Standards Met:
MS-PS1-3. Gather and make sense of information to describe that synthetic materials come from natural resources and impact society.

MS-ETS1-2. Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
Learning Goals/Student Objectives
-Understand that synthetic fabrics come from natural resources and impact society
-Apply the green chemistry concepts to decision making
-Consider properties of natural and synthetic fabrics
-Investigate the impact of pH changes through dyeing
Common pedagogies covered
Context-based learning
Hands-on learning
Problem-based learning
Student-centered learning
Time required (if applicable)
Two 45-minute class periods

Submitted by

Annette Sebuyira
Safety Precautions, Hazards, and Risk Assessment
Goggles, aprons and gloves(optional).
Teacher Recommendations or Piloting Data (if available)
-If microscopes are available, set them up before class.
-To save time during the experiment, you may wish to pre-measure cups of Kool-Aid and small cups or bottles of ammonia for each student pair.
-Set aside a cup each of Kool-Aid, vinegar, and ammonia for the class demo.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.59877/IQQD1900
Related Learning Objects
Sustainable STEM Overview
Sustainable STEM Lesson 1: Beginning an Investigation by Gathering Evidence
Sustainable STEM Lesson 2: Using Engineering Design to Make a Prototype
Sustainable STEM Lesson 3: Life Cycle
Sustainable STEM Lesson 4: Making Mushroom Material
Sustainable STEM Lesson 5: Testing the Cell Phone Cases
Sustainable STEM Lesson 6: Presenting a Sustainable Solution
Sustainable STEM: Polymer Properties
Sustainable STEM: Surefire Sharklet Lab

File (PDF, PPT, image, etc)

File (PDF, PPT, image, etc)
sustainable_stem_fabulous_fabrics.docx
Link to external
Multi-Fiber Ribbon from Educational Innovation
Basic Dye/Cationic Dye/Properties of Basic Dyes/Dyeing of Acrylic with Basic Dy…
Acid Dyes|Properties of Acid Dyes|Mechanism of Dyeing with Acid Dyes
Effect of pH on the Coloration of Synthetic Fibers with Indigo Blue
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.