Coconuts!
Being stranded on an island means you have to find your own water and food. One important tropical plant that can solve part of that problem is the coconut tree! Remember why Michael couldn't get the coconuts? How can you get the coconuts out of a tall tree? In this exploration we have discovered some items on our island (not Michael's island). How can we use these to get coconuts?
Virtual Materials on the Island
• Some planks of lumber washed ashore. There are some that are 6 feet long and 2 inches thick and 10 inches wide. There are lots of smaller pieces. Some of this lumber has loose nails still attached to the wood
• Rocks of all sizes are scattered around the island
• Many strands of plastic rope
• A rusted, wrecked ship
• And, hundreds of plastic bottles, running shoes, and various kinds and shapes of plastic.
Procedure
1. Sketch a coconut tree on a piece of paper. A coconut tree can be 100 feet tall. The diameter of tree is usually small--less that 2 feet, The coconuts are at the top. Here is a black and white drawing to help:
2. Taking inventory of all the things you have on the island, brainstorm a way to get to the coconuts.
3. After you have brainstormed several ideas, choose one to work on.
4. Sketch your design and explain how it might work.
If you are interested in a humorous way in which two characters solved this problem, watch the following animation.
Questions
1. What are basic human needs, no matter where you find yourself?
2. Using some research, what nutrition could coconuts provide?
3. How many coconuts would you need each day to survive?