The Asteroid Impact activity gives students a chance to experience problem based learning, an effect teaching method on the Interdisciplinary Science degree course at the University of Leicester.

As the name suggest there is an asteroid impact eminent in your area and as a class the students must decide the best course of action by working and communicating together. The surface of the earth will not be habitable and so all human beings will be housed underground and it is the responsibility of the class to ensure that everyone is safe, looked after and can survive for up to 2 years in the underground shelter. With this in mind, the class is split into small teams and assigned certain roles with tasks to perform.

 The teams are:     

•     Energy Awareness Team
•     Nutrition Team
•     Public Health Team
•     Research Team
•     Press Team

 Energy Awareness

As the name suggests this team is responsible for all the energy needs of the group. Using an excel spread sheet they must work out the total energy consumption the group will need. They do have a budget which has been worked out previously to be the most efficient and they must stick to it. However it isn’t that simple! Other teams may also need electricity for things that the energy team are not yet aware of and this can only be found by communicating with the other groups. The energy budget now starts to suffer, they will have to decide whether the welfare of the class comes before practicality.

 Nutrition Team

This team is in charge of the food that will be consumed underground. To start they are given a luxury food budget for the first week underground and so can take fresh food with them, however it is after this that the food decisions get hard. After the fresh food has gone what do they turn too? There are of course the options of dried food, canned food and frozen food but they must also consider any dietary requirements of the group. If frozen is chosen then of course this will need discussing with the energy team, people have to eat but is it vital that it tastes good at the sacrifice of say a television?

Public Health Team

This team is responsible for the overall well being of the group as a whole. It is their responsibility to ensure that everyone is healthy, fit and keeps in a good state of mind. Not matter what it takes they have to make sure everyone is happy. If they think that having televisions and computers is better than books and making your own entertainment then this is something that will need to be considered. They assess the nutrition team and check that all food groups are represented and a healthy, balanced diet is achieved. They must also asses the physical fitness of the group and decide what equipment should be taken down. However with space limited they need to run tests on people to see which piece of equipment is the most effect.

Research Team

They will be investigating all the asteroid impact itself. They have only been told a very limited amount of information from what the NASA scientist have been able to calculate so far. They must determine the size of the crater, taking into affect the size of the asteroid, the speed of impact and the angle. They must put together a good scientific investigation to determine the results that will ensure everyone’s survival. Any information they find could affect all the other groups and all their information is reported in the local newspaper.

Press Team

This is the most outgoing team as they must assign the roles of journalists and broadcasters. This group is the eyes and ears of the class and must go to all the groups and report on their progress. With regular broadcast they keep everyone up to date. They must also produce the front page of the local newspaper and so must decide on their target audience and the style of writing to use. Be warned though the press team are also responsible for the sudden News Flashes that come in which could affect the outcome of some or all of the groups.

The asteroid activity is to show students that it is never just one science that is involved in solving real world problems and that communication skills and team working skills are also a vital part.