Design and construct buildings with rooftop gardens. Junior engineers work in groups to build two buildings and then perform experiments to determine whether or not a garden affects the building's temperatures. They graph and interpret...

Build problem-solving skills with science! Step-by-step videos walk investigators through each stage of completing a science fair project. Scientists learn to formulate a testable question, design an experiment, collect data, draw...

Brainstorm ideas to design a sustainable guest village in the Sonoran Desert. The first installment of a nine-part unit teaches young environmental scientists about the basics of the Saguaro National Park and about sustainable design....

You're getting warmer. Groups conduct an experiment to determine which of four chemicals are in hot/cold packs. They learn about exothermic and endothermic reactions and use this knowledge to design a hot/cold pack that is small enough...

How does dirty water get clean enough to drink? After viewing a PowerPoint that outlines the process water goes through at a water treatment plant, groups work together to design a chlorination chamber for a treatment plant.

Get things moving with this extensive collection of physical science resources. Covering the fundamentals of measurement, graphing, lab safety, and experimental design as well as the specific scientific concepts...

Now it's time for all of the data collected in previous lessons to be applied to the design of a rain garden. This resource can only be used as part of the greater whole, since learners will need to rely on gathered knowledge in order to...

Encoding What I did Last Summer. Class members develop a way to encode a personal experience using a top-down approach to determine components and sub-components of their experience They then pick one portion of the experience and go...

Waxed paper, newspaper, or aluminum foil? Keeping an ice cube from melting may require one or more of these materials. Learners design a box that will provide insulation so an ice cube stays intact for at least 90 minutes.

What will it take to explore space? Teams of pupils determine the needs of a lunar outpost and research the required systems. The pupils then learn about the past space exploration vehicles. The third and final lesson challenges project...

Discover the power of wind energy. Learners design, build, and test wind blades in a hands-on experiment. They analyze the results to determine if they can make any improvements before gathering as a class to discuss their designs.

Grandma said to gargle with salt water for a sore throat. Was she right? In the last part of the seven-part unit, lab groups design an experiment to test a cells reaction to salt solutions. The pupils conduct their experiment to answer...

Erosion is no match for our canals. Learners first perform experiments to test the amount of erosion for different materials and different slopes. Based on the results, they design ditches or canals that carry water from one location to...

Many types of cancer treatments now depend on nanotechnology—a big "little" discovery. Scholars begin by removing "malignant" tissue from simulated brains, one using fluorescent markers thanks to nanotechnology and one without. This...

Which modification is the best? Using the scientific method, pairs determine the effects of each control surface on the distance of a glider's flight. The activity, section 16 in a 22-part unit on aviation, allows pupils to gain a better...

Save the class from a lack of engineering experience. An engaging STEM activity has learners work in groups to design a lifeguard chair out of masking tape and index cards. They build and test prototypes, all while learning about the...

What would it take to live on the lunar surface? Small groups build model rockets in order to simulate launching a habitat into space and rebuilding it. Divide the class into groups to design and build a model of a lunar habitat. The...

Space, the Final Frontier. The nine NASA-created challenges in this unit are designed to teach class members the engineering design process. Each challenge comes with teacher and student pages that can be used individually or as a...

Engineering challenges are not just man-made ... nature has its own set of them. A hands-on STEM activity has groups designing a seed dispersal system. Each group can only use one sheet of paper — a tough task!

What goes into a museum display? A secondary-level STEM project prompts groups to design a museum display for the Tech Museum of Innovation. They create an analogous, interactive model illustrating a science concept to complete the...

Twisting and turning through the sky, roller coasters are popular attractions at amusement parks around the world, but how exactly do they work? Explore the physics behind these thrilling rides with an engineering design activity....

What do physicists and musicians have in common? A lot more than you might think. After first viewing a slide show presentation and completing a series of skills practice worksheets on the physics of light, sound, and...

Pour a solid foundation of engineering into the minds of future engineers. Scholars take part in three activities to learn about civil engineering. They build a model of a cable-stayed bridge, conduct an experiment to see the effects of...

Complete teacher narrative and presentation slides for teaching about Earth's water make up the bulk of this lesson. Embedded within the slide show, you will find videos about the water cycle, keeping track of the limited supply of fresh...