PBS
Invisible Force
Investigate invisible forces. Young engineers design a setup that changes the direction of a steel ball using a magnetic force. The purpose of the setup is to model the gravitational pull of spacecraft by planetary bodies.
PBS
Robo Arm
Future engineers create robotic arms like those on rovers built by NASA in the second lesson of the series. They test their devices by attempting to pick up and move cups to a specified location.
DiscoverE
Extreme Trampolines
You'll bounce off the walls with glee after finding a fun resource. Young engineers design trampolines for golf balls. They build and test out their design and make improvements based on the results.
DiscoverE
Rubber Band Rovers
Get your learners interested in space exploration. Groups design space rovers using design software and then build prototypes of their designs. The farther the rovers can travel, the better. The catch? The rovers must be powered by...
DiscoverE
Ocean Acidification
Combat ocean acidification with bubbles. Young engineers create a system that reduces the acidity of water. Dry ice in water helps simulate ocean acidity, and blowing bubbles into the water results in a gas exchange that neutralizes the...
Rochester Institute of Technology
Skateboard Performance Testing
Perform an activity on performance testing with a lesson focused on the purpose of wheel bearings on skateboards. Learners conduct performance testing on a skateboard to collect and interpret data.
DiscoverE
Squishy Circuits
Make electricity flow through Play-Doh. Individuals create animals or other creatures using Play-Doh. The engineering aspect? Eyes that light up and Play-Doh that conducts electricity.
DiscoverE
Build a Better Boomerang
This isn't the boomerang you're used to. Scholars first see how a commercial boomerang works. They then cut out a four-wing boomerang and test its flight to compare it to that of the commercial boomerang.
Rochester Institue of Technology
Meal Picking
Scholars explore systems design and its relation to meal picking by using computer simulations to test systems designs. They learn about the Pick-to-Light System and calculate average picking times.
Texas Education Agency (TEA)
Investigating STEM Cluster Careers
Science, technology, engineering, math—there are so many option in STEM! Using the resource, pupils identify and explore STEM career opportunities. They complete a vocabulary activity mat, crossword puzzle, and matching activity to learn...
DiscoverE
Build a Pinball Game
Watch your classroom turn into an arcade. Pupils work in groups to build pinball machines from boxes and other found objects. Gamers must incorporate a variety of obstacles and launchers into the machine to see their designs in motion.
DiscoverE
Laser Challenge
Help your class become laser focused on the connection between sound and light. Scholars set up mirrors to bend and direct lasers that are connected to a music source. Music should start playing when the laser hits the photoresistor.
DiscoverE
Build a Spinning Top
There's no spin needed to describe the usefulness of a dizzying resource! Using paper plates, DVDs, wooden skewers, and pencils, learners work in teams to create spinning tops. The longest-spinning top wins.
DiscoverE
Levitating Train
Levitation isn't just for magicians. Pupils design and build a small portion of track for a maglev train using magnets and Lego bricks. The goal is to get the trains to levitate—without using magic!
DiscoverE
Design a Flotation Device
Save the soup! Scholars devise a flotation device using straws, balloons, foam, corks, and other objects. A can of soup must stay afloat for at least a minute with this device—your dinner might depend on it!
DiscoverE
A Clever Way to Water
Your plants will survive without you. Scholars create a device that can water plants using a coiled string. Along the way, they learn about adhesion and cohesion of water. The challenge is to keep the plants alive for at least a week.
Curated OER
Jeopardy Development Team Project
Students study the criteria for evaluating web sites and use information found in authoritative web sites to create questions for a game of Jeopardy. They evaluate three different web sites, some with minor errors and some with major...
Curated OER
Networking the Internet: A Dynamic Research Tool
Students engage in a lesson that is concerned with the research of finding information to help them develop new science projects. They conduct research using a variety of resources that includes e-mail and discussion groups.
Curated OER
Are You Listening?
To underscore the importance of practicing good listening skills class members engage in a series of activities that model poor listening skills. In pairs and then as a whole group, class members enact different, more positive techniques...
Freecloud Design
Monster Physics™
Physics fanatics will shriek over this monster-themed construction application! They design an invention with the intention of competing one of 50 missions and test it out with real physics applications.
DiscoverE
Design a Catapult
Just this once, it's okay to throw things in class. Out of craft sticks and rubber bands, pupils build catapults to launch an object of choice. This can be a ping-pong ball, a marshmallow, or any other small item. As long as it hits the...
DiscoverE
Harmless Holder
Here's a lesson plan that's not for the birds! Scholars design and build packaging for soda cans that is environmentally friendly. These packages must be durable, easy to carry, and have no environmental impact.
DiscoverE
Human Suspension Bridge
When is it okay to be suspended in school? When you're part of a human suspension bridge! Learners first model tension and compression in pairs. Once complete, they get together as a class to model a suspension bridge.
DiscoverE
Spaceship to Mars
Feel like a rocket scientist for the day. Using only paper and tape, scholars create a framework for a spaceship to Mars. Each sheet of paper costs $10 million and each piece of tape costs $100,000. Make sure you stay within budget!