On day 2 of our M-Term we came to school and began to learn about the importance of water. We learned that the bare minimum amount of water to survive is two cups and that the recommended amount of water daily is 6-8 cups. We talked about the main reasons people die from dehydration being: Not accounting for the amount of water lost from sweat (it can be hard if sweat evaporates in the desert) and rationing too much water. Then we talked about symptoms of dehydration and ways to filter dirty water in different situations. After talking we began working on creating a water filter using items we found outside, we wrapped live plant leaves in a plastic bag to collect the water plants filter out naturally, we tested how vessels (such as Ziplock bags) holding water, will not melt if the water inside of them has not yet heated up, and we tested the portable water filters we bought and will be taking on the trip. After some time passed, I noticed the plants wrapped by the plastic bags had started to condensate and I noticed the water filter we created was working pretty well.
Once lunch had finished we all came back to the science lab and discovered the 20-in-1 survival kits we bought had come in. Inside them were essential survival tools such as: a magnesium and steel manual fire starter, a whistle, a compass, a knife, a multi-utensil, a pen with a glass breaker on the back, a mini folded thermal blanket, a flashlight, paracord rope, and a multitool. After checking everything out we began talking about
fire. We looked at different kindling materials and some fire making tricks in the wild. After a while of that everyone walked over to bell park and began to gather any loose materials that looked useable in making a fire. Once we filled up the bucket we made our way back to the high school and practiced lighting the kindling on fire with the magnesium rod. A few different methods were used such as using the magnesium rod and the knife to scrape it (which worked pretty well) and focusing the sun's light using a magnifying glass. After probably 2 hours of testing things out, everyone had managed to get their fire started. I almost got it with the magnifying glass, but sadly it didn't work out. The most exciting fire was probably Carson's because it was able to light some bigger sticks and create a nice fire. Overall we learned very very much about water and fire, even getting into the specifics with science. Looking forward to tomorrow, thanks for reading!
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