Visit activity: Designer Choices, Plastic Properties

In this activity students consider the properties that designers required to make particular items displayed in Plasticity: 100 years of making plastics.

The 20th century has been dubbed the ‘Plastics Age’ because plastics became so widespread. Some were discovered by accident. Others were designed for specific purposes. All have particular properties.

Using this activity

In the 'Plastic Dreams' section of the exhibition, each display case presents a range of items made from a specific plastic. The plastics featured are nylon, polythene, polyester, PVC, polyurethane, polystyrene, acrylic and urea formaldehyde.

Ask small groups of students to choose one display case in this section. Ask them to think about the function and purpose of the items in the case. On the Designer Choices, Plastic Properties student sheet they circle the properties that they think the designers would have been seeking when deciding what plastic to use to make the item.

The sheet also asks students to list additional properties that they consider important.

Designer Choices, Plastic Properties student sheet (pdf)

Back in school collate the information collected by all of the groups. Discuss why any differences in opinion have occurred (because they have had to gauge the properties qualitatively rather than quantitatively through measurement or testing).

Ask the students to brainstorm how the properties on the sheet could be measured accurately.

Ask students to brainstorm the properties required from a material to make a particular product, for example:

Shopping bag
Mobile phone cover
TV casing
Car hubcaps
Tennis racket
CD or DVD
Cycle helmet

From their list of properties can they suggest which plastics could be used to make the item?

Are there other materials that might do the job (e.g. woven cotton or knitted wool or string to make shopping bags)?

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using the alternative materials the students have suggested (e.g woven or knitted bags may be reusable and long lasting, but they’re not waterproof).

Take a vote on which material they feel is best, and ask them to justify their opinion.