Can't build a cantilever? You'll be able to after a hands-on, constructive activity. Young engineers build cantilevers out of straws and tape. The finished products must be able to hang off a table as far as possible.

Discover how innovations can help your school and community. In the three-part STEM lesson, scholars learn the meaning of innovation and brainstorm innovations in their schools. They identify issues in their communities and think of...

Everything in moderation, especially candy. Scholars design and build a dispenser for candy. But, they can't get too carried away—only three or four pieces of candy can come out of the dispenser at one time.

Does technology affect our intelligence? Stefanie Olsen's article, "Intelligence in the Internet Age," and the thought provoking reading comprehension questions that follow, are sure to generate a lively discussion. 

Every child's dream: stuffing as much candy into a bag as possible. Doing this, though, requires a nice sturdy bag. Scholars design the sturdiest bag they can and test the limits of those bag using a sweet treat!

Sail to the ground with a parachute activity! Kids construct parachutes out of household items and a toy figure, after brainstorming the best way to reduce drag. Once they test their parachutes, they can adjust their projects to...

Green roofs aren't just eco-friendly — they are literally green with trees. Groups learn about the concept of green roofs in order to be able to design one. The groups design a 5,000-square-foot green roof for a fictional apartment row...

It's time to boldly go where your class has not gone before! The introductory lesson in a five-part series takes young oceanographers aboard the NOAA Ship Okeanos to begin a study of ocean exploration. The lesson includes a comparison of...

Explore and brainstorm innovations for cars with a STEM lesson that asks scholars to weigh different options when considering when buying a car. They research the fuel efficiency and carbon emissions for various options, and then...

Students are introduced to the analysis of health risks in the laboratory, particularly from vapors from organic solvents. They consider quantitative measure of risk such as threshold limit values (TLVs), the amount of the compound that...

Ecology aces examine sea surface temperature maps and relate temperatures to concentration in fish and zooplankton populations. Take your class to a computer lab and provide experience with actual remote sensing data. Some of the links...

Build a trophy and be a winner. Pupils build trophies that can support a sports ball of their choosing. Based on the ball choice, they figure out how the height requirement changes.

Put your heart into it. Scholars design and build replacements for mitral heart valves. Obviously, they can't test their creations on a real heart, so a box with marbles (to represent blood cells) will suffice.

Homes come in many different shapes and sizes. Building a model of a geodesic dome is the ultimate goal for the activity. Cutting and folding is the way to go here.

A wind turbine is essentially just a giant pinwheel, right? Individuals first create pinwheels from paper, pins, and pencils. In groups, they model a wind farm along a coast and then test out their designs using an electric fan.

Students explore the concept of triangulation that is used in navigation satellites and global positioning systems designed by engineers. They determine ways these technologies can help people determine their position or the location of...

Students explore the genetic engineering of food.  In this health lesson students explain how DNA technology can be used to produce food. 

Students analyze how medical devices that help the human body function. They work in pairs or groups to draw multiple views of the medical device and describe how engineering is used by biomedial engineers.

Students work in groups to study castlers and fortresses of the world. They study pictures and models of well known castles and fortresses. Students construct a 3-D model of a castle or fortress using materials of their choice.

Students design a flower-pot and saucer. In this math lesson, students incorporate the use of technology to correctly build and shape a flower pot. They calculate the necessary mass of the red clay used to make the pot.

Twelfth graders build a replica of the Roman aqueduct. In this Roman engineering lesson students create and label a model of the Roman aqueduct. Students watch a slide-show of the Roman aqueduct ruins.

Students analyze cantilever stress using COSMOSXpress. In this engineering lesson, students calculate the beam's maximum deflection. They investigate the effect changing beam dimensions.

Middle schoolers comprehend that inventions can change the way we live. They comprehend that many inventions start out with design flaws and are refined later by subsequent inventors and designers. Students are explained that the...

Beginning with a discussion about using technology to collect data, this resource includes a video about the next Mars rover as an example. Young scientists are taught that filtering is necessary before collected data can be analyzed....