Curated OER
Boat Hull Design
Working in small groups high schoolers develop three alternative boat designs. They discuss the rationale for the type of hull, propeller, location of ballast, and type of building material used in their design. They build their boat.
Teach Engineering
Amusement Park Ride: The Ups and Downs in Design
Groups design the ultimate roller coaster by considering potential and kinetic energy. They test their designs using marbles and then go on to rate each group's design based on aesthetics, loop diameter, and cost.
Teach Engineering
Surface Tension Basics
Back to the basics (of surface tension). The first installment of a nine-part series teaches young scholars about the basics of surface tension and how it relates to water droplets. They also learn how this concept allows for the...
TerraCycle
What Can Nature Teach Us about Sustainable Design?
Talk about Velcro®, Gecko Tape, WhalePower turbine blades, and other innovations that mimic nature to inspire your STEM or engineering class. This set of worksheets gets them thinking about imitating nature in terms of sustainable...
Center for Precollegiate Education and Training
Buoyancy Boats
What did the sea say to the boat? Nothing, it just waved. An inquiry-based lesson starts with a simple concept on the Archimedes Principle and challenges pupils to make something out of clay that floats. Then, they design...
Curated OER
4-H Line & Design Activity Page
What a great activity for students. This 4-H activity sheet has students organize their bedroom, and make clothing, focusing on line and design.
Discovery Education
Jets in Flight
This Discovery Education activity provides the information needed to understand the basics of flight. Before taking off, young pilots learn the eight stages of the engineering design process. Small groups then design and build...
Discovery Education
STEM Camp—Urban Infrastructure
Build a bridge to learning in a STEM-aligned unit about urban infrastructure. Young engineers explore the many aspects of civil planning and design in a five-day unit. Content includes the challenging aspects of balancing building with...
Royal Society of Chemistry
Equilibria—Gifted and Talented Chemistry
Teaching is a balancing act! Keep things on an even keel with a comprehensive equilibrium lesson plan. The resource covers reversible and irreversible reactions, Le Chatelier's Principle, and the industrial applications of equilibrium...
Curated OER
The Physics of Flight
Three activities allow young flight engineers to understand the 4 principles of flight (weight, lift, thrust, and drag), to construct a glider, and to create a propeller. Multicultural history and literature are integrated by reading...
Curated OER
Air Is All Around Us!
Learners design an instrument to show that air is all around. In this air lesson plan, students research, construct, and present a design that proves that air is all around, even though they can't see it or touch it. A teacher and self...
Curated OER
Vision Disorder
Students design a morning routine for a 60 year old female senior with vision disorder. In this biology lesson plan, students collaborate with their team to come up with possible solutions. They present at least two ideas of their design...
Cornell University
Catapults
Ready, aim, fire! Launch to a new level of understanding as scholars build and test their own catapults. Learners explore lever design and how adjusting the fulcrum changes the outcome.
Curated OER
Designing and Building Catapults
Seventh graders complete a challenge to create a catapult that projects a marble or other projectile at least one meter. While experimenting they apply the Four Question Strategy to answer the question, " How can I make one modification...
Curated OER
Exploring Basic Physical Science Concepts
Young scholars use the concepts of simple machines to construct a mobile. The inquiry is made in groups and presentations are made by constructing reports. The assessment is based upon the final product of the mobile and how students use...
Colorado State University
How Can I Turn a Solar Oven into a Refrigerator?
Whether you want to heat things up in science class or cool things down a bit, an intriguing lab's got you covered! Science scholars explore the principles of thermodynamics using a solar oven, then change the conditions to turn their...
Curated OER
Chocolate Asphalt Cookies
Students make no-bake cookies to learn basic engineering principles, road construction and material science. They experience properties and changes in matter.
Curated OER
Voltmeter Design
In this voltmeter worksheet, students design and mathematically analyze a circuit they design. They also answer 17 questions about voltmeters, the voltage in given schematics, and the resistance in voltmeters.
Curated OER
PHYSICS OF FLIGHT
Ninth graders study the basic principles of flight, including the Bernoulli Principle and Newton's Laws. They construct and study model aircraft
Curated OER
Airplanes
Fourth graders experiment with gravity and lift by building paper airplanes. In this physics lesson, 4th graders compare the falling rate of a crumpled vs. flat sheet of paper. Then after class discussion and demonstration of Bernoulli's...
Curated OER
How can my breakfast help the birds?
Sixth graders design farms with a bird's habitat in mind. In this farm lesson plan, 6th graders research how sun grown coffee destroys a bird habitat, and then they make their own farm with a bird's habitat being preserved. They then...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Rotational Equilibrium
Physics stars design mobiles that demonstrate rotational equilibrium. They take measurements and solve related equations for force by graphing, substitution, or determinants. This is a well-developed lesson plan, complete with student...
Curated OER
Basic Electromagnetism and Electromagnetic Induction
In this electromagnetism and electromagnetic induction activity, students answer 12 questions about electricity, about the magnetic fields in given diagrams, about the right-hand rule and about electric current and voltage in magnetic...
Curated OER
Build Working Models With household Items
Students follow the illustration, and cut out foam board according to the pattern. They assemble the small parts by gluing. Once the glue is dry, students tape the end of the bottom and top clipper boards, they slide toothpicks through...