Use food coloring in electrophoresis. The last segment in a four-part series mimics DNA fingerprinting by using chromatography. Teams conduct chromatography on food coloring to find colors that use similar pigmentation in their makeup.

Space, the Final Frontier. The nine NASA-created challenges in this unit are designed to teach class members the engineering design process. Each challenge comes with teacher and student pages that can be used individually or as a...

No vacuum cleaner? No problem, just build your own. Scholars apply knowledge of currents to build a model of either a vacuum clear, a hair dryer, or a toy car. While the class completes the activity, instructors consider gender...

Stick this resource in the "Use" column. In the second installment of a six-part series, learners use glue sticks to demonstrate forces. Using glue sticks, instructors can demonstrate tension, compression, and torsion.

Stop and drop what is in your hand! Pupils investigate how form effects drag in the 12th part of a 22-part unit on aviation. Groups create equally weighted objects and determine which one falls the fastest by collecting data.

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...

After reading about the history and science of personal floatation devices, patents, and intellectual property, engineering teams design a life vest for a can of soup. To evaluate which groups considered the need for waterproofing, hold...

"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!" Through this assignment, emerging engineers examine how failed experiments are simply part of the process of an outstanding design. They begin with some reading about the microwave oven,...

Moving along the line. Class members research how a conveyor belt works in order to gain background information. Groups then design a conveyor belt that will carry a piece of candy four feet and along a 90-degree turn. The groups...

Emerging engineers read about Arduino software and how it can be used. Then they follow a nine-step tutorial to connect an Arduino board to a computer and put it to work! The objective is to code a program that will cause an LED to...

Wind it up and let it go. Individuals build a basic spool racer in the second portion of a six-part unit on energy. After receiving three criteria, pupils modify their designs to meet the new challenge. Pairs compete against each other...

During the Winter Olympics, this would be an engaging task to include in your STEM instructional activity. Design teams plan, construct, and test a miniature ski lift that can carry a pingpong ball up and down a rope line without falling...

Bubbles aren't just for children. In the third installment of a seven-part series, teenagers use bubble solution to create bubbles and observe patterns of refraction on the bubble surfaces. Application of this concept to thin films in...

A long-term project has scholars consider ways in which sensors help monitor physiological stress levels of rescue workers. They design and create a portable device for this purpose. Techies to the rescue!

Is a STEM career the right choice for me? Lesson four in a six-part career and college readiness series introduces seventh graders to the world of STEM occupations. Individuals use their Holland code results to select, research, and...

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...

Experiment with 3-D glasses to learn about stereo images and virtual reality. Scholars look at various images to determine if green/red or red/cyan glasses are preferable. They determine distances between images using the 3-D glasses and...

Skyscrapers are amazing feats of architectural design that create the iconic skylines of the world's biggest cities. Young architects explore the defining characteristics of these monstrous towers with the first lesson in this four-part...

What does size have to do with it? Learners analyze different mixtures, both homogeneous and heterogeneous, to discover the properties related to the size of their particles. The activity connects these properties to those of...

No need to go to Ollivanders to buy a magic wand. In the chemistry lab activity, young magicians mix chemicals to create combustible compounds. By applying these compounds to an iron wire, they create magic wands.

Water, water, everywhere, but pollution is a major problem. Scholars design a filtration device or process that removes dirt and other particles from water. They use various household objects such as marbles, cotton balls, or coffee...

Shake, rattle, and learn! Future engineers build structures out of toothpicks or spaghetti sticks, using marshmallows as connectors. They then use a homemade shake table to test the sturdiness of their creations.

Two-axis rotations ... twice the fun as one-axis rotations! The last installment of a five-part module teaches scholars how to conduct two-axis rotations. They create isometric drawings before and after the rotations.

A little wind shouldn't hurt a building. Given three sheets of paper and six feet of tape, scholars create a structure that can withstand wind and hold up a weight. They conduct tests using a fan and decide on any improvements to make...