Nogales Girl Scouts put their models in a flow tank

Five Girl Scouts in grades 6–12 joined us in Nogales, Arizona, for 75 minutes with a portable flow-visualization tank. They made a crab, a dragon, a dolphin, a Girl Scout figure, a tornado, and a coral-like structure. A trail of dye let us see where the water went around each shape.

A turquoise and pink model with a fin sits in the tank. Thin green streaks pass over its back and extend beyond its tail.
Dye traces the flow over and behind a student’s finned model.
A layered model stands on the tank floor. Bright green dye bends around its rounded top and spreads into curls to the right.
An upright model leaves a broad, curling trail of dye in its wake.

One student noticed a patch of water that seemed to linger near the coral-like structure. The water there might have been nearly still or circling back toward the model. We talked about how the flow around a living coral carries food particles within reach of its polyps.

The dolphin model gave us a way to talk about stability. A fin changes the path of the water as a dolphin swims. The resulting force on the fin can help steady the animal.

The students made their own connections to marine biology, animation, and the possibility of studying flow around animals. Troop leader Mayra Quintero told us the girls enjoyed the demonstration and appreciated having STEM speakers visit.

The visit was part of our work at EquiPhysics to introduce girls to mathematics, physics, and engineering through animals and natural phenomena.