The case study described in this article focused on a topic of real national concern, landslides, which can trigger sudden and tragic environmental problems and bring considerable loss of life. Landslides occur in many parts of Thailand, for example on mountain slopes, areas eroded by water or areas with rock degradation (Department of Mineral Resources, 2016). During a science camp in 2018-2019, the author created a 'Landslide Prevention Project' as an activity to explore both the causes and effects of landslides. The challenge was for pupils to develop and use skills and knowledge to investigate the impact of landslides in order to prevent such destruction of life and property. The pupils took the role of engineers looking for solutions, using engineering design processes either to manage the surfaces of the slope above a series of houses in a small village or to move the inhabitants away from the path of the muddy flood -- or both. The goals of the activity were to help pupils to: (1) discover the causes of landslides in Thailand; (2) learn about the effects of landslides; and (3) find solutions for the landslide problem, including both 'mitigating' and 'accommodating' the problem.