About

Irrigators are used in farming to water crops thoroughly and efficiently, while preserving water, which is a precious resource in many parts of the world. Irrigation can be done using sprinklers, drip systems, and others methods. Irrigators are used less in homes, as they are normally smaller areas that can be watered by hand. Still, there are many benefits to having irrigation in the home: convenience, precision, water conservation, and so forth.
 

Your task

Design an irrigator for a home. It may be for your home, or the home of family, or friends. The home irrigator may be used for indoors or outdoors; and for any purpose: to water lawns, potted plants, fruit trees, vegetable patches, and so forth. Your home irrigator may be electrically operated if necessary, but it must safely enclose the electric parts. Build a model of your home irrigator and test it. Work on this project on your own, or together with a classmate.
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The design thinking stages

Follow the five design thinking stages to ensure that you think of everything and do everything necessary in order to succeed in your design project. First, you must UNDERSTAND the design topic and the needs of the users. With that understanding, you can DECIDE what is important to your design solution and what is not so important. Then you CREATE to come up with ideas and improve them. Then you BUILD your chosen design idea in a physical form and improve it through trial-and-error. Finally, you TEST your built design idea to get the opinions of users. ​​​​​​​Use the methods from the Design Thinking for Schools website as you follow the design thinking stages.
 

N​​​​​​ote for teachers

• Designing and building a home irrigator is a big task for students of Level III (12–14 years old). The teacher must approve of the project before beginning. They must consider:
  • Do the students have sufficient time to complete such a project?
  • Do they have a place to install and test the irrigator?
  • Do they have permission to install and test the irrigator at the location?
  • Can they afford to build a working model? They will need pipes, fittings, and other equipment to build an irrigator.

​​​​​​​CAUTION

• ​​​​​​​A faulty home irrigator can cause flooding, with possible expensive damage to property.
• Get the homeowner’s approval before installing a home irrigator.
• Install the irrigator under adult supervision only.
• Do not leave the home irrigator unsupervised.
• Dismantle and remove the irrigator when finished.
• You must be trained to use hand tools.
• Wear protective equipment like gloves, and eyeglasses.
• Do not use power tools.

​​​​​​​Read the guide for teachers on Safety for the BUILD Stage for Level III to safely supervise this design project.