Project Grade 8 Art & Music
Beneath the Streets: An Aging-Water-Mains Exhibit Design
A grade 8 art project where teams design a scaled three-panel museum exhibit about why old water mains break, within a fixed panel size and a fictional budget.
Objectives
- Students will design a scaled three-panel exhibit that fits a stated panel size and budget.
- Students will write exhibit labels that explain why old water mains break, using one real fact.
- Students will present a proposal that shows how their design meets the size and budget limits.
Vocabulary
- Water main
- A big underground pipe that carries drinking water beneath the streets to a neighborhood. Smaller service lines branch off it to reach each building.
Also: exhibit, panel, scale, budget
Teacher overview
Much of the pipe that carries drinking water is decades old, and a water main breaks somewhere in the United States roughly every two minutes. The 2025 ASCE Report Card gave the nation's drinking water a C-, and EPA estimates that about $625 billion in drinking-water investment is needed over twenty years, most of it for the pipes that run beneath streets. Over four sessions, teams design a small museum exhibit that helps ordinary visitors understand why these old mains break, working within a fixed panel size and a fictional budget, and present their design to a fictional museum board. The design challenge is turning an invisible, underground problem into something a visitor can grasp while standing at a wall.
Project Brief
Driving question: How can we design a three-panel museum exhibit that shows why old water mains break, fits a set panel size, and stays within a fictional $400 budget?
Scenario: The Halcyon City Water Museum is a fictional museum. Its board has asked student teams to design a small exhibit about aging water mains for its front hall.
Why old mains break (for the teacher's fact sheet): Many mains are older than the service life they were designed for. Iron pipes corrode from the inside and outside over decades, which thins their walls. Soil that freezes, thaws, dries, or settles shifts around the pipes and bends them. Sudden pressure changes, such as a valve closing quickly (called water hammer), put extra stress on weak spots. The fact sheet should list these causes so teams can explain them in their labels.
Constraints:
- The exhibit uses three panels. Each panel is 3 feet wide and 4 feet tall. That is 12 square feet per panel and 36 square feet in all.
- The budget is a fictional $400. The teacher gives a price sheet. Printed panel material costs $6 per square foot. Mounting hardware costs $40 for the set. One small model or object may be added for up to $60.
- The exhibit must use at least one real fact from the teacher's fact sheet, such as the main-break rate or the report-card grade.
- The audience is museum visitors of all ages. The words must be easy to read while standing.
Final deliverable: A scaled layout of the three panels drawn on grid paper, the exhibit label text, and a one-page written proposal to the museum board. The proposal must show how the design meets the size limit and the budget.
Milestones
- Session 1 -- Research and set the rules (50 minutes): Teams read the fact sheet and pick one fact to feature. They write down the panel size, the $400 budget, and who the audience is. Output: a planning sheet that names the chosen fact and lists the limits.
- Session 2 -- Draft two layouts (50 minutes): Teams sketch two rough three-panel layouts on grid paper. For each one, they estimate the cost using the price sheet. Output: two labeled draft layouts, each with a rough cost.
- Session 3 -- Build the final layout and labels (50 minutes): Teams pick one draft. They draw it to scale, write the exhibit labels, and list every cost. Output: one scaled final layout, the label text, and an itemized cost at or under $400.
- Session 4 -- Write and present the proposal (50 minutes): Teams write the one-page proposal. They present the layout and proposal to the class, who act as the museum board. Output: a finished proposal and a short team presentation.
From Water for Schools (waterforschools.org). This material is in the public domain (CC0) and may be copied, edited, and shared freely.
Rubric
| Criterion | Emerging | Developing | Proficient | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exhibit clarity and message | The featured fact and the reason mains break are missing or unclear | The fact appears, but the exhibit does not clearly explain why mains break | The exhibit clearly features the fact and explains why old mains break | The exhibit clearly explains the cause, and the layout and images guide the visitor through it in order |
| Budget and size constraint | The design breaks the panel size, the $400 budget, or both, with no fix | The design is near both limits, but the costs are not itemized | The design fits the 36-square-foot size with an itemized cost at or under $400 | The design fits both limits, is itemized at or under $400, and explains one tradeoff the team made |
| Proposal and presentation | The proposal is incomplete or hard to follow | The proposal covers the design but with unclear reasoning | The proposal clearly shows how the design meets the size and budget limits | The proposal meets both limits and answers a likely question from the museum board |
Differentiation
Support
Give teams the panel-material cost already worked out ($6 per square foot times 36 square feet is $216) so they can focus on the design and on the $184 left for hardware, a model, and changes. Provide a shorter fact sheet with only two facts to choose from.
Extension
Ask teams to price a fourth panel, also 3 feet by 4 feet at the same $6 per square foot, and to explain whether the exhibit could still add it and stay within the fictional $400 budget.
ELL supports
Provide the fact sheet with a simple picture beside each fact, such as a cracked pipe next to the main-break fact. Allow the exhibit labels and the proposal to use labeled sketches with short sentences rather than full paragraphs.