Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Toxic Popcorn Design Challenge

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Engineering enthusiasts are sure to explode in understanding as they practice the engineering design process (EDP). A container of "toxic popcorn" is placed in the classroom. Teams must work together to devise a method for removing it...
Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Dispenser Designs

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
After reading about the history of tape dispensers, learners compare and contrast different dispenser designs. Next, teams work within budgetary and time constraints to design a better dispenser. When finished, each engineer reflects on...
Lesson Plan
eGFI

Design a Green Rooftop Garden

For Teachers 6th - 9th
Design and construct buildings with rooftop gardens. Junior engineers work in groups to build two buildings and then perform experiments to determine whether or not a garden affects the building's temperatures. They graph and interpret...
Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Engineer a Dam

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
To begin the learning about dams, learners read (or are read to, depending on the age group) a passage about how dams work. Next, they work in groups to use the materials provided to build a small scale working dam. After the experience,...
Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Tennis Anyone?

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
After reading up on the history of sports racquets, engineering teams design and construct a racquet for batting a Velcro-striped ball at a target. Teams evaluate their design by aiming for the target three times each and answering...
Lesson Plan
Teach Engineering

Design Step 1: Identify the Need

For Teachers 9th - 12th
What exactly does an engineer do? Learners find out through a lesson that asks them to solve a problem that affects a target population. Aspiring engineers learn the steps of the engineering design process as they apply it...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Engineering Design Process

For Teachers 6th - Higher Ed
Design your own video game, engineer accident-proof highways, or even develop a new phone app! The Engineering Design Model can be used with all ages and in all subject areas to create a product, system or service. The resource explains...
Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Interactive Gumball Machine

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Sure, you may be able to build a better mousetrap, but what about a gum dispenser? In a fun engineering challenge, teams must design and build a working interactive gumball machine with specific constraints and criteria.
Lesson Plan
Rochester Institue of Technology

Ergonomic Design

For Teachers 6th - 12th
To an engineer, the glass is never half full; it's just double the necessary size. The fifth installment of a nine-part technology and engineering series teaches pupils about the idea of ergonomic design. Measurements of popliteal height...
Lesson Plan
2
2
American Chemical Society

Engineering a Floatation Device

For Teachers 5th
Classes will definitely not be sinking after a buoyant lesson! A project-based assessment helps highlight the importance of prior knowledge as individuals design a floatation device for a cell phone. They use their knowledge of chemical...
Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Ship the Chip

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
Here is a tasty challenge, especially for middle school engineers: design a container that meets mass and volume criteria, and will safely transport a tortilla or potato chip through the mail without damaging it! Mostly, this is a crisp...
Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Popsicle Bridge

For Teachers 2nd - 12th
Using popsicle sticks and glue, groups must work together to design and build a bridge that can support weight and is aesthetically pleasing. The lesson begins by learners reading about different features of bridge architecture, followed...
Lesson Plan
eGFI

Marshmallow Design Challenge

For Teachers K - 12th
How tall is your marshmallow structure? With limited supplies (including uncooked spaghetti noodles, masking tape, and one marshmallow), teams endeavor to support the marshmallow atop the tallest spaghetti structure they can build....
Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Water Tower Challenge

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Providing clean water to a town is quite a feat... is your class up for the challenge? After a short reading about water towers, groups work together to design a working water delivery system. The water flow must be adjustable (able to...
Lesson Plan
Teach Engineering

Design Step 5: Construct a Prototype

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Enough with the talking, let's build something! In the fifth step in the engineering design process, young engineers build a prototype to test their ideas. The lesson plan walks them through the process of evaluating it...
Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Statue Display Tower

For Teachers 2nd - 12th
Sometimes engineering problems that seem easy prove to be more challenging than imagined. Present your class with the challenge to build a functional display tower to support a statue using only the supplies available in class while...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Purdue University

Design of a Door Alarm

For Teachers 4th
How does electricity work? Budding scientists explore the concepts of electrical currents and open and closed circuits with class discussion and a hands-on activity using a battery to turn on a light bulb. Learners also make predictions...
Lesson Plan
1
1
California Academy of Science

Fresh Solutions: Design Thinking Challenge

For Teachers 6th - 10th Standards
How do people transport fresh water long distances to ensure everyone has access to it? The final activity in the 10-part Fresh Solutions unit encourages individuals to design their own solution, or solutions, to that very problem....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Design Challenge: Cup in the Cupboard

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students design device that will place a cup into a cupboard for a physically challenged person. They study the engineering design and how structure relates to function.
Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Working with Wind Energy

For Teachers 2nd - 12th
After reading about how wind turbines work to collect clean energy, groups brainstorm and design their own windmill. Within the provided financial and physical constraints, groups must build a working windmill using only the materials...
Lesson Plan
1
1
Bonneville

Designing a Faster Water Pump

For Teachers 2nd - 5th Standards
Things can always be made better. The culminating installment in the seven-part Understanding Science and Engineering unit has pupils design their own water pumps. In groups, they build a prototype of a design of their choice, then test...
Activity
Teach Engineering

Biodegradable Husk-Bags Design Challenge

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Those corn husks can be put to good use. Future engineers design and build a new, biodegradable bag for potato chips out of corn husks. They test out their bags by shaking, dropping, and tossing them, as well as placing them in water.
Lesson Plan
Teach Engineering

Design Step 2: Research the Problem

For Teachers 9th - 12th
How do you get started designing a product to meet your engineering design goals? Here, learners gain understanding of an important aspect of the engineering design process: background research. Through brainstorming and worksheets,...
Lesson Plan
North Carolina State University

Construction

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Engineering design projects serve as great opportunities for collaborative problem solving. For this case, students work in small groups designing, building, and eventually testing a structure that meets a teacher-specified objective. It...

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