Don't kick the resource to the curb; you'll definitely regret it. Future engineers devise a kicking machine that launches a ping-pong ball toward a target. They can use a pendulum, a rubber band, or both, depending on whether they want...

Watch out below! Future engineers come up with methods to ensure that a ball in a cup stays in the cup even after dropped from a given height. It might be prudent to include some kind of shock absorber in the cup. Parachutes are a good...

You might just be responsible for launching a future career in rocket science. Pupils use Alka-Seltzer® tablets as the power source for a film-canister rocket. These rockets must able to carry a clay payload and hit a target on a wall.

This isn't the boomerang you're used to. Scholars first see how a commercial boomerang works. They then cut out a four-wing boomerang and test its flight to compare it to that of the commercial boomerang.

Science, technology, engineering, math—there are so many option in STEM! Using the resource, pupils identify and explore STEM career opportunities. They complete a vocabulary activity mat, crossword puzzle, and matching activity to learn...

Help your class become laser focused on the connection between sound and light. Scholars set up mirrors to bend and direct lasers that are connected to a music source. Music should start playing when the laser hits the photoresistor.

There's no spin needed to describe the usefulness of a dizzying resource! Using paper plates, DVDs, wooden skewers, and pencils, learners work in teams to create spinning tops. The longest-spinning top wins.

Levitation isn't just for magicians. Pupils design and build a small portion of track for a maglev train using magnets and Lego bricks. The goal is to get the trains to levitate—without using magic!

Save the soup! Scholars devise a flotation device using straws, balloons, foam, corks, and other objects. A can of soup must stay afloat for at least a minute with this device—your dinner might depend on it!

Your plants will survive without you. Scholars create a device that can water plants using a coiled string. Along the way, they learn about adhesion and cohesion of water. The challenge is to keep the plants alive for at least a week.

Here's a lesson that's not for the birds! Scholars design and build packaging for soda cans that is environmentally friendly. These packages must be durable, easy to carry, and have no environmental impact.

When is it okay to be suspended in school? When you're part of a human suspension bridge! Learners first model tension and compression in pairs. Once complete, they get together as a class to model a suspension bridge.

Feel like a rocket scientist for the day. Using only paper and tape, scholars create a framework for a spaceship to Mars. Each sheet of paper costs $10 million and each piece of tape costs $100,000. Make sure you stay within budget!

Students participate in a debate regarding the Three Gorges Dam in China. In this research skills lesson, students prepare for a debate regarding the construction of the Three Gorges Dam in China. Students participate in the dam taking...

Students describe the complementary relationships between pollinators and the plants they pollinate, identify adaptations that flowers have developed to "encourage" pollination, and create and draw their own "designer" flowers.

Students examine state quarters to identify symbols that represent national and regional identity. They discuss the process used to determine what is put on the quarter. They review colonial money, and euros to look for cultural images.

Students discuss career possibilities. In this career education lesson plan, students view presentations from various career areas and discuss workplace requirements. Students list the top few career choices that interest them.

Students read about and discuss how chemical engineers use different states of matter to create substances. In this chemical engineering lesson plan, students also give examples of the 3 kinds of matter.

Students read about and discuss water and how it is used as a resource and how engineers use technology to preserve it. In this water lesson plan, students look at a picture of water treatment and tell what is wrong with the picture.

Students study invention steps and design their own invention. In this invention instructional activity, students discuss inventions and the process of inventing. Studnets write in an inventor's journal and study various types...

Students study weather and define the appropriate dress for various weather patterns. In this weather and clothing instructional activity, students discuss wearing appropriate clothes for specific weather. Students use the weather board...

Mix it up by using an intriguing resource that teaches young metallurgists that alloys are a metal mixture. They learn about the advantages of using alloys over pure metals and investigate titanium alloys as an example to finish the...

Strive for perfection. Based on peer feedback, groups identify ways to improve their prototypes of the solution to the plastics problem. Members must come up with at least two ideas for improvements. This is the eighth instructional...

It's always nice to see what the solution looks like. Groups build a prototype of their solution to the plastics problem in the sixth installment of a 10-part unit. The prototypes can be either a visual prototype or a working prototype.