Coastineers Longshore Drift Model - Build your own!

The longshore drift model is a simple model that can be built as a STEM club project using basic materials and woodworking skills. This model demonstrates how eroded cliff material is transported along a coast and deposited elsewhere in lower energy areas forming beaches and other features such as spits. It shows why beach levels may drop drastically during storms and how longshore drift can be reversed by the effect of seasonal variations in weather patterns, It is really versatile and can be used to show how hard engineered structures like groynes can interrupt this longshore drift process and change beach levels. The longshore drift model and associated STEM material combines science, engineering and geography learning to help students better understand coastal processes and see these principles in real life. The Coastineers have been working on the coast for a combined 30 years as engineers and scientists and we hope you enjoy making your wave tank as much as we did!