It's "Green light, go!" with this lesson! STEM classes are illuminated with the history of traffic signals and how the engineering design has improved over time. They also learn about patents for new inventions. Finally, they research in...

Emergent engineers plan, construct, and experiment with a spaghetti noodle structure that could hold a load. Set them up for success by first showing them a four-minute video on engineering design and a slide show of different signposts....

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...

To begin the learning about dams, learners read (or are read to, depending on the age group) a passage about how dams work. Next, they work in groups to use the materials provided to build a small scale working dam. After the experience,...

What is the main difference between an engineer and a technician?  This is one of the driving questions in a plan that proves that analysis at every step of development is crucial to the engineering design process. The lesson...

Elements, to the rescue! Scholars first review the periodic table, and then learn about the first 20 elements and their properties and uses in the fourth of six lessons in the Mixtures and Solutions unit. Applying their newfound...

Sure, you may be able to build a better mousetrap, but what about a gum dispenser? In a fun engineering challenge, teams must design and build a working interactive gumball machine with specific constraints and criteria.

Need some activities to go along with your unit? A collection of hands-on activities from PBS offers opportunities to add to your electricity, sound, and force units. The electricity activities revolve around building a...

Take your drafting and design projects on the go with with this mobile computer-aided design program. Allowing users to view, edit, and share their work with others, this is a great resource for developing the technical drawing...

Students analyze prior labs by keeping a lab notebook. They share their lab notebook by electronically sending it to their classmates. Students demonstrate evaluation of other lab notebooks within the same classroom and those from other...

To prepare for the activity, STEM classes read about nanotechnology and the amazing properties of graphene. They collect a graphene sample from pencils, and then connect them into simple circuits to determine whether it makes a better...

A series on environmental engineering introduces the class to issues that environmental engineers work to solve. This first lesson focuses on air and land issues, and looks at ways to reduce pollution.

Electrical engineers entertain and explain how to construct an electromagnet-driven motor. Kellie and Mike, the hosts of the show, are enthusiastic teachers that will help introduce a project that you likely include in your middle school...

Orange you glad you can make circuits using fruit? Young electricians learn about electric circuits and electricity. As part of the lesson, they build a circuit with an orange and then with a banana.

Hang a soda can from a string and watch it spin by the force created by water streaming out of slanted holes. This plan provides background information, detailed materials and procedures, discussion questions, a lab worksheet, and...

"By the hair on your chinny-chin-chin, I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in," says the big, bad wolf! Engineering hopefuls are challenged to design and construct a hurricane-proof building from simple office and craft...

In an effort to practice engineering design, STEM classes break out into teams and endeavor to make a working ink pen. To prepare, they read about writing implements through history, patents, and viscosity of liquids. Armed with this...

Step by step is always best. In groups, future engineers create the tallest possible tower with marshmallows and spaghetti sticks. Along the way, they learn about the engineering design process. 

What defines success? The fourth installment of a 10-part series focuses on the criteria for engineering design success in solving the plastics problem. Pupils also consider any constraints.

After reading about the history of tape dispensers, learners compare and contrast different dispenser designs. Next, teams work within budgetary and time constraints to design a better dispenser. When finished, each engineer reflects on...

A fun and challenging activity for nearly any age group, partners must work together to build the tallest structure possible using paper clips, straws, and pipe cleaners. In addition to being tall, the structure must also be able to...

Using popsicle sticks and glue, groups must work together to design and build a bridge that can support weight and is aesthetically pleasing. The lesson begins by learners reading about different features of bridge architecture, followed...

Sometimes engineering problems that seem easy prove to be more challenging than imagined. Present your class with the challenge to build a functional display tower to support a statue using only the supplies available in class while...

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...