How efficient is a motor in a LEGO set? Future engineers conduct an activity where a LEGO motor-generator system raises an object to a specified height. They then show what they learned and use their measurements to calculate the energy...

It used watt amount of energy? This resource investigates the power usage of small household appliances. Using a watt meter, groups measure the actual wattage used by an appliance and then calculate the energy used daily. 

Ramp up the engineering design process in your classroom with an activity that challenges teams to design, build, and test a small-scale portable wheelchair ramp. The class develops design requirements, and teams test their designs...

Give your class a chance to show what they know. In the last installment of a seven-part series, pupils summarize and review what they have learned in the series. They present their solutions for creating a biosensor to detect cancer...

Let's get the herd to follow the rules. The activity associated with the second lesson in the unit introduces the class to the definition of a function. Individuals must gather in groups of zebras and rhinos defined by the general...

Your pupils can build their own electromagnet — awesome! The culminating activity in an eight-part series challenges groups to design and build their own electromagnet. The goal of the activity is to build a magnet capable of picking up...

With a piece of plastic here and a piece of plastic there, here a piece, there a piece, everywhere a piece. Teams go on a field trip in order to document the locations and kinds of plastic trash in an area near them. The eighth...

Protect the world from energy depletion—join the Energy Intelligence Agency. Using a set of cards, pupils distinguish between correct and incorrect information regarding energy use in the United States. They analyze graphs and diagrams...

How does the dirt get out of your drinking water? A hands-on activity introduces the use of flocculants to help clear solid particles out of water. The plan walks learners through the process of setting up an experiment that...

What does an MRI machine have to do with a slinky? This activity challenges learners to run a current through a slinky and use a magnetic field sensor to measure the magnetic field. Groups then change the length of the slinky to see...

What do lab tests reveal about a patient's health? Scholars perform a simulated urinalysis on two different patients by testing color, pH, glucose levels, and protein levels. Then, they compare their findings to what they know passes...

Stretch your teaching repertoire with an experiment on the elongation (stretching) and failure (break) of several materials. The point of the experiment is to design a composite material for chair webbing.

Change one variable and try again. Teams build basic balsa gliders and collect data on their flight distances and times. Through collaboration, the team decides on two modifications to make to the basic design and collect data for the...

It's a neat idea, but the task of designing a system for filling jars with consistent specific amounts of a product may be a little out of reach, especially for younger pupils. Intended as an engineering design instructional activity,...

It is not always easy to walk the straight and narrow. In the sixth portion of a nine-part unit, groups actively recreate a graph depicting motion. Individuals walk toward or away from a motion detector while trying to match a given...

Mass and density — aren't they the same thing? This activity has groups use balance beams and water displacement to measure several objects. The pupils use the measurements to calculate the density of the objects. 

The good thing about building this rover is you get to eat it afterwards. Pairs determine rover parts they want to include in their design based upon their cost and usefulness. The teams design their rovers, build them from edible...

You've got to pump it up! Using the equations for projectile motion and Bernoulli's Principle, class members calculate the water pressure in a water gun. The pupils collect data on the number of pumps and distance traveled in order...

Small groups use rubber bands to accelerate an Android device along a track of books. They collect the acceleration data and analyze it in order to determine the device's velocity. 

Wrap up the unit in one final design. Pairs use their knowledge of aviation to design new flying machines and record how their designs take into consideration the forces that act upon airplanes. The pupils determine whether their designs...

Following detailed directions, teams collect the voltage and current outputs of a photovoltaic cell by adjusting the resistance. Using the collected data, they determine the highest power output. Implications for weather and a large...

How do rockets fly? Teams design, build, and launch a rocket made from a two-liter bottle to explore forces on a rocket such as Newton's Laws of Motion.  During the design phase, young engineers draw a diagram of their rocket and...

Amaze your scholars with an activity that uses a Cartesian diver to demonstrate Pascal's Law, Archimedes' Principle, and the Ideal Gas Law. Groups then repeat the process and make their own diver move up and down in a bottle.

The challenge: determine whether a tank will float. A design activity has groups work as engineering teams in order to determine the stability of given tanks and liquid contents. The teams need to determine the equations to...