At it's core, SD1's Storm Water Challenge is an environmental engineering challenge. You'll learn to think like an engineer to solve problems like an engineer! So, what's an engineer? Sabrina Cruz of Crash Course Kids breaks down what an engineer is, what they do, and how they do it!

Sabrina introduces the Engineering Process! 

1. Define Your Problem

2. Do Your Research

3. Develop a Possible Solution

4. Design Your Solution

5. Build a Prototype

6. Test It

7. Evaluate Your Solutions

How do engineers figure out what the problem is they need to solve?
What is the difference between identifying a problem and just complaining about something? Learn from Sabrina how to identify solvable problems, the first step in the engineering process!

The most successful solution is one that meets all of, or most of, the criteria. After brainstorming solutions, the proposed solution that best meets the criteria is the one that engineers attempt to design. In this video, Sabrina describes engineering criteria while explaining what determines success!

There are usually many potential ways to solve any given problem. Brainstorming and evaluating possible solutions is a key part of the Engineering Process. Learn how to do this with Sabrina!

Selecting the best solution is not always an easy task! Sabrina shares how patience and critically thinking about solution strengths and weaknesses can lead you towards the most effective and efficient solution. 

Engineers identify variables, which are simply conditions that can be changed, when looking at and testing potential solutions to a problem. Sabrina explains how "what-if" questions help engineers identify variables. 

Changing variables can change outcomes. Sabrina shows why it is important to change one variable at a time when exploring variables as they relate to outcomes. 

See what steps engineers take to test solutions, and how examining one variable at a time helps put a spotlight on the true success of that variable.

Learn how to use trials to figure out what the problems are with proposed solutions. 

Did you know that engineers challenge their concepts to fail in an effort to make their solutions better? Learn how investigating failure points leads to better solutions. 

Finding failure points and fixing them is the key to unlocking the ultimate solution!