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Article
Creative Science Centre

Creative Science Centre: Perhaps the Simplest Homemade Generator in the World

For Students 9th - 10th
This very simple, but effective generator shows in a wonderfully engaging way the fundamentals of electricity generation. The generator is made from a coil of wire wound around the outside of a plastic 35mm-film can. The two coil ends...
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Website
Creative Science Centre

Creative Science Centre: Wind and Wave and Other Power

For Students 9th - 10th
A collection of links to projects and information on how to make different types of windmills, and a wave powered electricity generator.
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: The Power of Food

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students imagine they are stranded on an island and must create the brightest light possible with the meager supplies they have on hand in order to gain the attention of a rescue airplane.
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Potato Power

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students use potatoes to light an LED clock (or light bulb) as they learn how a battery works in a simple circuit and how chemical energy changes to electrical energy. As they learn more about electrical energy, they better understand...
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Pointing at Maximum Power for Pv

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Student teams measure voltage and current in order to determine the power output of a photovoltaic (PV) panel. They vary the resistance in a simple circuit connected to the panel to demonstrate the effects on voltage, current, and power...
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Organic Solar Energy and Berries

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students learn about how a device made with dye from a plant, specifically cherries, blackberries, raspberries and/or black currents, can be used to convert light energy into electrical energy. They do this by building their own organic...
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Unit Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Exploring Solar Power

For Teachers 6th - 8th
This unit provides students the opportunity to explore methods engineers have devised for harnessing sunlight to generate power. Students will initially explore heat transfer and heat storage through the construction, testing, and...
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Online Course
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mit: Open Course Ware: Engineering the Future of Solar Electricity

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Part of a materials science engineering course, a project through which students investigate the future of solar electricity by creating prototypes of solar cells. Students complete exercises in "project planning, analysis, design,...
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Lesson Plan
Other

Engineering Your Future Ohio: Della Steam Plant Case Study

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This lesson gives a real world example of challenges and choices engineers face in their careers. The Della Steam Plant Case Study allows students to analyze and present finding about a problem found in the power plant's turbine system....
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Hands on Activity: Designing a Thermostat

For Teachers 9th - 10th
By building a basic thermostat, students will explore basic circuitry and electricity. The thermostat built out of a breadboard, temperature sensor chip, amplifier, and battery creates a linear relationship between temperature of the...
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Lesson Plan
Other

National Renewable Energy Laboratory: Junior Solar Car Competition

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A design challenge through which students design and construct a solar-powered model car to compete in a road race. Students work in teams using the engineering design process to select the optimal gear ratio and components.
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Website
Creative Science Centre

Creative Science Centre: Dc Converter and Electrical Storage for Shake a Gen

For Students 9th - 10th
This simple device uses a few components to rectify the alternating current (AC) from the shake-a-gen, store it in a capacitor and convert it into a steady direct current (DC). The output can be used to run a low power device. It is also...
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Website
Creative Science Centre

Creative Science Centre: Mobile Phone Absorption Wavemeter

For Students 9th - 10th
An absorption wavemeter is a device which can make measurements on the strength of radio emissions and so this instrument is an essential item for investigating the mobile phone. In principle an absorption meter is a simple device that...