A Shocking Dystopia: STEM Adventures in The City of Ember Part 4 of 4: Where the River Goes

This lesson is PART 4 of a four-lesson unit, which focuses on futures thinking, the phenomenon of electricity, closed-system agriculture, and water as a renewable energy resource. “The City of Ember” is a dystopian novel by Jeanne DuPrau that explores themes of self-sufficiency, resourcefulness, and the consequences of relying on unsustainable systems. The story is set in a city where the infrastructure is failing, leading to a potential blackout and loss of essential resources. In Lesson 4, Where the River Goes, students will design, build, and test a waterwheel prototype. The scientific phenomenon shown by a waterwheel is the conversion of kinetic energy into mechanical energy. When water flows and strikes the blades of a waterwheel, it transfers its kinetic energy to the wheel. As a result, the wheel begins to rotate, converting the energy of the moving water into mechanical energy.