Covers skills that may be needed to work in construction.

Provides guidelines for how to structure a survey. Click on the links in the sidebar to access all materials in this section. Subtopics include: types of questions, content of questions, response format, wording of questions, and...

A brief description of the building of the Great Wall of China. Why it was built, who built it, its measurements, what building materials were used, and its purpose.

In this activity, students investigate the effect that weight has on rocket flight. Students construct a variety of their own straw-launched rockets, or "strawkets," that have different weights. Specifically, they observe what happens...

In this activity, students work with specified materials to create aqueduct components that will transport 2 liters of water across a short distance in their classroom. The goal is to build an aqueduct that will supply Aqueductis, a...

Working as engineering teams, students design and create model beam bridges using plastic drinking straws and tape as their construction materials. Their goal is to build the strongest bridge with a truss pattern of their own design,...

The difference between an architect and an engineer is sometimes confusing because their roles in building design can be similar. Students experience a bit of both professions by following a set of requirements and meeting given...

Lesson explore sensors focusing on ones that measure humidity. Young scholars work in teams to design, build, test, and evaluate a hygrometer which was made out of everyday materials to measure humidity levels.

Students learn about the major factors that comprise the design and construction cost of a modern bridge. Before a bridge design is completed, engineers provide overall cost estimates for construction of the bridge. Students learn about...

Lesson plans for many student activities which introduce the concept of polyhedra into the classroom. Some activities can be accomplished by hand with paper, pencils, and scissors, but the unit works best if the students can regularly...

Students learn about the engineering design process as they design, build, and test a spring scale using everyday items that can measure the weight of an apple. The objective of the instructional activity is to explore how scales work...

To introduce the two types of stress that materials undergo - compression and tension - students examine compressive and tensile forces and learn about bridges and skyscrapers. They construct their own building structure using...

Young scholars learn about the types of possible loads, how to calculate ultimate load combinations, and investigate the different sizes for the beams (girders) and columns (piers) of simple bridge design. Students learn the steps that...

A comprehensive description of clothing in ancient Egypt: fabrics, construction, styles, laundering, and footwear. Many pictures accompany the commentary.

Young scholars read about the emergence of HIV/AIDS and construct a 3-D model of an HIV virus particle using the provided outline drawing. The lesson materials and a set of slides can be downloaded.

In this hands-on activity, students construct a simple switch and determine what objects and what types of materials can be used to close a switch in a circuit and light a light bulb.

In this instructional activity, students will first discuss where energy comes from, including sources such as fossil fuels, nuclear, and such renewable technologies as solar. After this initial exploration, students will investigate the...

Students investigate the ways in which ancient technologies - six types of simple machines and combinations - are used to construct modern buildings. As they work together to solve a design problem (designing and building a modern...

Students are introduced to two real-life problems that can be solved by using the engineering design process. For the first one, they watch a slide presentation that shows how students use the engineering design process to build an...

Students learn about the engineering design process as they design, construct, test, and evaluate surgical instruments using everyday materials. The objective of the design is to see how well they can perform a simulated "surgical...

Students will be challenged to design and construct a tower out of newspaper. They will have limited supplies including newspaper, tape, and scissors since engineers are often restricted by economic reasons as to how much material they...

Writer Nina Wegner travels to Altamira, Brazil, and talks to the fishermen who are struggling for their livelihoods. The world's third-largest dam, the Belo Monte, reaches peak construction this year, destroying their environment. She...