The Green Square Game

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The Green Square Game

• Department of Chemical Engineering
• University of Connecticut
• Michael Cutlip
• Suzanne Fenton
• Original material prepared by Thad Schifsky at
  WRITAR

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Goals Objectives
To raise awareness of

• The chemical engineering profession
• waste minimization in manufacturing
• sources of waste options for minimization
• importance of communication
• non-technical issues

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Game Content
Pollution prevention/waste minimization Hands-on
learning Group problem solving/design Engineerin
g solutions to societal problems
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Appropriate for
Grades 5-12 College Students Practicing
engineers/administrators/ regulators
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Materials Needed

• 1 container blue tempura paint
• 1 container yellow tempura paint
• 50-75 small paper cups to mix paint in
• Popsicle sticks or plastic spatulas
• paint brushes
• white construction paper

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Lets Play - Round I
Assemble groups - each group is a company The
instructor is potential client who wants green
squares Year is 1953 Criterion for competition
- exact match of the model (including dryness,
color consistency,etc)
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1st Round Evaluation
Color Match
Color Consistency
Dryness
Cleanliness of back
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Round I Discussion
Was it quiet during the game? Was the project
time consuming? What approach did you use to
produce the square? Was a lot of planning
involved? Did you work as a team? Was waste a
concern? How much waste did you generate?
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Round II
Repeat round I Except the Year is now 2002
Additional constraints - We must now consider
environmental impact along with cost, product
quality, and time.
Teams will now be evaluated on their ability to
produce a quality product while generating the
least amount of hazardous waste i.e.
Anything that gets paint on it
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2nd Round Evaluation
Color match color consistency dryness amount of
raw material used production floor
cleanliness number of contaminated brushes, cups,
spoons left over green paint contaminated hands,
clothing, etc
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2nd Round Discussion
Compare round I and round II for quietness,
time consumption, planning, teamwork How did
focus change? Discuss techniques they used to
minimize waste. How much waste minimization was
achieved? How was the quality affected? How can
we dispose of the waste generated?