Journey Through the Center of the Digestive System

JOURNEY THROUGH THE CENTER OF THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

Your group is the design team for GASTRO WORLD, a new theme park based on the human digestive system. Your proposed park will contain at least eight attractions (rides, games, shows, simulations, etc.), each of which allows participants to experience some aspect of the digestive system and/or the digestive process.

A theme park is more than just an amusement park although there are many elements in common. Amusement parks usually contain a collection of diverse attractions such as games, rides, concessions and exhibits. A theme park is typically built on a more elaborate scale than an amusement park, with attractions revolving around a common theme. Ordinary amusement park attractions are often transformed to fit the theme of a theme park. For example, a common amusement park ride is a roller coaster. Most theme parks also contain roller coasters, but they are altered to fit a new theme. They might become sea monsters, arctic polar coasters or space voyages. Many theme parks also contain large luxurious constructions where participants ride through the structures and are exposed to lavish, often interactive, displays designed to entertain or teach.

After you have studied the anatomy and physiology of the human digestive system, your class will form 2-3 large groups, depending on the number in the class. Your group task is to design GASTRO WORLD, prepare a portfolio of the park’s attractions and construct an approximate scale model of it. Specific instructions are as follows:

1. As a large group, discuss theme parks that group members may have visited, read about, or seen on television. What attractions were the most memorable to you and what aspects made them memorable? What did you learn from them? How could you incorporate ideas from these parks into your design of GASTRO WORLD?

2. Select a group member to be the leader. (You may wish to have two leaders.) The leader’s responsibility is to keep the group on task and to make sure that everyone participates in a fair and equitable manner. The leader should also be aware of what everyone in the group is doing so that when everything is finally put together, nothing will be missing.

3. Brainstorm aspects of the digestive system that you might want to include in your attractions. Examples might include organs of the alimentary canal, accessory organs, mastication, peristalsis, enzyme hydrolysis, absorption, and elimination. Some of these features can be further broken down and there are many other aspects of digestive anatomy and physiology that you may wish to include. From your brainstormed list, decide on 10 – 15 different aspects that you wish to discuss further.

4. Talk about how each idea you have chosen could be made into an interesting and tasteful theme park attraction. Select the best ideas to use in the design of your park. Keep in mind that your attractions should be original, creative and represent a variety of types.

5. Decide how the work will be divided up. Since conflicting schedules often make it difficult for members of large groups to get together at the same time, it is suggested that you form subgroups to work on individual attractions outside of class so that class time can be used for collaboration and coordination.

6. Design each individual attraction. Determine how the attraction will teach about the digestive system. Your final design portfolio will contain the following:

· A cover design that has the name of the theme park, the names of the design team (alphabetical), and a picture or group of pictures of scenes in the park.

· An introduction to the theme park, stating its purposes and providing a general overview of the attractions.

· A detailed colored drawing (or painting) that illustrates each attraction in a clear detailed manner. You may wish to include more than one drawing for each attraction if that is necessary to show all its important aspects.

· A complete description of the attraction (how it is set up, how it operates, unique features, etc.) accompanying each drawing.

· A complete description of whatever aspect of digestive anatomy or physiology is featured in the attraction and how and what a participant can learn from it.

· This can also be done as a PowerPoint.

5. Decide on the layout of GASTRO WORLD and construct an approximate scale model showing the entire park.

· Your model should be large enough to show all the attractions as well as entrances, landscaping, walkways and lanes, parking areas, etc. (a suggested effective size would be about 1m2). All items in the model should be constructed to approximately the same scale. Or computer designed.

· The models of individual park attractions should be large enough so that their structure can be clearly seen. Again can be computer designed. Must be thorough in measurement and design.

· Extra credit will be given for other aspects of theme parks besides the attractions should be included. Examples of these aspects could include trees, benches, pools, fountains, signs, information directories, ticket and concession booths, etc.

· If the attraction is inside a structure, the model of the structure should be partially cut-away so that the interior can be seen. If making a computer model make sure there is a map with a legend and measurements included.

· You may select the materials used for the construction of your models but the entire display must be solid and sturdy so that it can be moved around without parts of it falling off. Examples of materials and objects you might want to consider in the construction and decoration of your park include styrofoam, balsa wood, poster board, plastic, metal, glue, ice cream sticks, straws, foil, beads, craft supplies, paint, clay, plaster of paris, etc. As much as possible, you should use common recycled materials or items found around the house. This assignment is not meant to cost group members a lot of money.

· Commercial products such as toys cannot be used as park attractions. For example, a mechanical roller coaster toy could not be used as a roller coaster in your model. However, commercial items like Legoä blocks, Tinker Toysä, etc., are permitted as long as they are used as building materials and not used to represent items in the theme park. You may not just simply just cut and paste without altering if you are making a computer model.

· Remember that a theme park is very attractive with interesting and appealing use of colors, textures, compositions, and shapes.

Adapted Pond