Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Dispenser Designs
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...
Curated OER
Technology: Biomedical Engineering
Students participate in activities simulating various disabilities. After discussions, they work in teams to devise or improve on adaptive devices for people with disabilities. They include drawings of the tools they design and explain...
Science 4 Inquiry
Levitation Engineers: Exploring Forces
Levitation tricks have been documented from the early 1900s, so how do they do it? Scholars learn about the force of magnetism in an attractive resource. They watch videos and design experiments to understand the strength and...
Trash For Teaching
The Light-House Project
Groups work together to design a lighthouse, from designing and drawing the wiring diagram, to creating prototypes of the switch and circuit, to envisioning and building a scale model along with a blueprint. By including different...
Teach Engineering
Designing a Winning Guest Village in the Saguaro National Park
Don't desert a resource on the desert! Scholars work in groups to build on their ideas from the previous lesson to design a sustainable guest village in the Saguaro National Park. Each group produces a PowerPoint presentation to share...
Curated OER
Design Engineer Problem
Students design a flower-pot and saucer. In this math lesson, students incorporate the use of technology to correctly build and shape a flower pot. They calculate the necessary mass of the red clay used to make the pot.
Curated OER
Building a Car: Mechanical Engineering
Students use common materials to build a car. In this car building mechanical engineering lesson, students build a car using a milk cartoon and plastic wheels. They discuss what mechanical engineers do and what makes a car run.
Curated OER
Bridge Design and Bridge Building
Seventh graders conduct an investigation into the design of bridges and their construction. Students design bridges and draw detailed plans. For assessment they construct a model of a bridge that is made entirely of toothpicks. Students...
National Wildlife Federation
Fossil Fuel Extraction Activity
Extracting oil is more difficult than many think! Learners work together and get hands-on as they represent oil companies drilling for oil by simulating oil extraction using beans. They identify the challenges faced in using...
Curated OER
Aerospace Engineering
Twelfth graders examine the physics of rocket flight. They build and launch model rockets to measure their performances.
Curated OER
Medical Instrumentation
Students analyze how medical devices that help the human body function. They work in pairs or groups to draw multiple views of the medical device and describe how engineering is used by biomedial engineers.
Curated OER
Chemical Engineering: Volcanoes
Students study volcanoes using a chemical engineering project. In this volcanoes lesson, students create a model town and discuss the properties of a volcano. Students then make a volcano using a chemical engineering format for their...
Curated OER
Machines: Designing Form and Function
High schoolers design a boat model with simplified steam engine. In this ecology lesson, students compare renewable and nonrenewable energy sources. They determine the efficiency of their boat model.
Curated OER
You Can Be a Woman Engineer
Students inspect a variety of objects from different points of view. The front, right, side, top and bottom. They then draw a diagram of that object from the point of view chosen. Also, they think of other objects and draw them from...
Curated OER
Highway Design for the Future
Eighth graders research highway designs and create a marble maze to illustrate a highway system. They test their designs and write reports defining the project and analyzing the results.
Curated OER
Cement and Concrete Engineering
Students explain the components of the engineering design process. In groups, they identify the materials that make concrete and practice curing cement using the various methods available. They develop a graph showing the amount of...
Curated OER
What Is Industrial Design?
Students explore the processes used by industrial designers to design useful, safe, and appealing mass-produced objects. They select an object from their home or classroom and redesign it to improve its function, feel, and/or appearance.
Curated OER
Concept Structures in Architecture
Students develop a creative building design. In this technology lesson plan, students create a model of their building using a computer software. They present their final product in class.
Curated OER
"Girls Only" Science Workshop
Young scholars design sleds. In this engineering instructional activity, students collaborate to engineer and build a real working sleds from the materials provided. This instructional activity was originally designed to be taught...
Curated OER
Stack It Up!
Learners analyze and begin to design a pyramid. Working in engineering teams, they perform calculations to determine the area of the pyramid base, stone block volumes, and the number of blocks required for their pyramid base. They make a...
Cornell University
Beam Focusing Using Lenses
Explore optics using an inquiry-based experimental approach! Young scholars use a set of materials to design and build a unit capable of focusing a beam of light. They experiment with different lenses to determine the best approach to...
Teach Engineering
Constructing Sonoran Desert Food Chains and Food Webs
Investigate desert biomes by creating food chains and food webs. Groups first research feeding habits of organisms in the Sonoran Desert. This information helps pupils draw food chains and webs to determine relationship between organisms.
Teach Engineering
Are We Alone?
Find an answer to the age-old debate of whether life exists on Mars. Groups determine criteria to help look for signs of life on Mars. The activity has the class simulate testing Martian soil samples for signs of life before drawing...
Columbus City Schools
May the Force Be with You
You won't have to force your classes to complete these engaging activities! Through exploration, young scientists learn that force has both magnitude and direction. They draw force diagrams, investigate force models, and complete a...