ML Students Study COVID-19 Vaccine Storage, Create Homemade Coolers

by Assistant Head of School for Academics David Long

Every day Galloway faculty members are empowered and encouraged to take advantage of learning opportunities as they arise to deepen student learning. Eighth grade science teacher Mat Fallon took advantage of such an opportunity when the Pfizer vaccine was authorized by the FDA. Pfizer’s COVID vaccine must be kept between -112°F and -76°F and is shipped in coolers that minimize heat transfer to prevent the dry ice from sublimating during distribution and storage of their COVID vaccines. These coolers must work without electricity since they will be transported around the globe and into remote areas. 

While Mr. Fallon’s class usually studies thermal energy and heat transfer later in the spring, Mr. Fallon quickly moved the project to coordinate with a problem-based learning unit. The unit’s final project challenged students to create a cooler that would keep an ice cube from fully melting as long as possible - using only household materials. Much like Pfizer’s packaging, students’ coolers had to work without electricity to block the transfer of heat to delay the melting of the ice cube and could be no larger than 25 cm on any side. 

Students learned about the different ways that heat can be transferred and worked with materials that are conductors or insulators. Applying what they learned about radiation, conduction, and convection, students designed coolers, using trial and error to make them as efficient as possible. For example, students quickly learned that metal was not a good insulator and instead sped up the melting process. 

Mr. Fallon’s students did a fantastic job of applying their knowledge to creating their coolers; many of them were able to design a cooler that kept the ice from fully melting for over eight hours. Congratulations to Mia Rudderman ‘25 who broke the previous record of 10 hours, by designing a cooler (pictured at left) that kept her ice from melting for 14 hours. Way to go Mia! In the end, the students loved the chance to apply what they learned to a real-world problem that scientists are confronted with today.