Curated OER
Spaghetti Challenge
Students use materials like marshmallows, spaghetti, and chocolate to build structures. In this building structures lesson plan, students use these materials to construct a building and compare different structures. Students see which...
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
Hot Air Balloon Design Lesson Plan
Sixth graders discuss what they know and what they want to know about hot air balloon using a KWL chart. They then use a wide array of materials to design a hot air balloon that will lift successfully in cooperative groups referring to...
Curated OER
Speedy Spaghetti
Students explore the principles of motion by constructing a car out of pasta that will carry a large marshmallow and travel down a ramp. They discuss the formula for calculating speed, design and build their cars, and calculate their...
Teach Engineering
Breaking the Mold
A little too much strain could cause a lot of stress. Groups conduct a strength test on clay. Using books as weights, pupils measure the compression of clay columns and calculate the associated strain and stress. Teams record their...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Can You Canoe?
A neat handout immerses learners in the history of canoe making. After reading, small groups of mini engineers work to craft a canoe that will not be immersed! This is an ideal exercise in engineering design for your STEM curriculum or...
Skyscraper Museum
What is a Skyscraper?
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 instructional activity in...
Berkeley Engineering and Mentors
Marshmallow Catapaults
After a brief lecture on levers, torque, projectiles, and the five-step engineering design cycle, young physical science learners or engineers build catapults out of craft sticks. This is an open-ended exploration of what works and what...
Shakespeare Globe Trust
Fact Sheet: Playhouses
Laborers used common materials to build London's first performance venues, including sticks, plaster, and ... hair? Using an informational handout, scholars learn about the construction of different types of playhouses where actors...
Curated OER
Motion Commotion!
Students explore the drawings of Rube Goldberg to design and construct a simple machine. They discuss simple machines, and using various materials and toy parts, design and construct a "Rube Goldberg" style machine to ring a bell.
Curated OER
Wind Effects on Model Building: Pre-Lab for Truss Design and Testing
Emerging engineers perform pre-lab calculations in this first of a three-part lesson on model building. They determine the forces of tension and compression in a truss. After completion of the worksheet, pupils will draw a draft of their...
EngageNY
Describing Center, Variability, and Shape of a Data Distribution from a Graphical Representation
What is the typical length of a yellow perch? Pupils analyze a histogram of lengths for a sample of yellow perch from the Great Lakes. They determine which measures of center and variability are best to use based upon the shape of the...
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Zebrafish and Skin Color
You may not know if that zebrafish in your fish tank is a model citizen—but it is definitely a model organism! What can we learn about ourselves from a tiny zebrafish? Discover more about the polygenic trait of skin color through a...
Curated OER
Energy At Play
If you can find Tinker Toys™, then this may be a fun assignment for your physical science class. Using the construction set and a few other toys, they examine the forces involved when it they are being played with. For each, they...
EngageNY
Integer Exponents
Fold, fold, and fold some more. In the first installment of a 35-part module, young mathematicians fold a piece of paper in half until it can not be folded any more. They use the results of this activity to develop functions for the area...
Curated OER
Bust Of Virgo, Bust Of Pisces
Students analyze the relief designs of Petra and design their own personal sacred image in the same style using plaster of Paris or Model Magic. This instructional activity should be completed within 45-minutes of starting construction...
Curated OER
Nigerian Dundun Drum
Learners investigate the use of a Nigerian dundun drum and are given background information of how they work and the intricate construction. They conduct research using a variety of resources and then create a replica from simple materials.
Curated OER
Sandcastle Rooflines
Students research the architecture of Antonio Gaudi and his first buildings of Gothic architecture. Then they combine, texture, and paint recycled containers to construct a detailed castle. Students also fill in surrounding areas with...
Forest Foundation
Forest Watersheds
Where does the water we use come from? To understand the concept of a watershed, class members study the water cycle and then engage in an activity that simulates a watershed.
NOAA
Boat Building Challenge
Scholars build a boat using an assortment of materials such as foam plates, aluminum foil, and skewers, then test its buoyancy with pennies. Challenge boat builders to construct the strongest or fastest boat in a healthy competition with...
Curated OER
Water Filtration
As an example of nature's water filtering system, young ecologists conduct an experiment in the lab. They construct a funnel out of a plastic bottle, fill it with specified layers of materials that simulate layers of soil, then run muddy...
Media Smarts
Marketing to Teens: Talking Back
Teach your class to talk back in a constructive and respectful way. This focuses in particular on talking back to the media and to advertisers when they have concerns. Learners participate in a brainstorm and then compose letters or...
Bowland
Torbury Festival
Have you been to Torbury Fair? In the set of four lessons, learners solve a myriad of problems related to a music festival, including situations involving floods, market stalls, cows, and emergency plans.
K20 LEARN
Microbes and Manure = Biofuel
Waste not, want not! Science scholars explore manure as an alternative energy source through reading and experimentation. Groups construct their own biofuel digesters and observe the process of methane production. The teacher's guide...