Engineering enthusiasts are sure to explode in understanding as they practice the engineering design process (EDP). A container of "toxic popcorn" is placed in the classroom. Teams must work together to devise a method for removing it...

Take your class on an out-of-this-world adventure with this fun engineering design lesson. Working in small groups, young scientists design, build, and test crew exploration vehicles using some creativity, teamwork, and...

High schoolers explore a computer-aided design program. Students chart out roller coaster design, computer graphics and architecture. High schoolers focus on understanding the connections between mathematics, science, technology and...

Three, two, one, blast off to a better understanding of force and motion with this exciting science lesson! Beginning with a discussion about rockets and gravity, young scientists go on to complete a series of worksheets about net...

How high did the ball go? Engineering teams build a working pneumatic system that launches a ball into the air. The teams vary the amount of pressure and determine the accompanying height of the ball. An extension of building a device to...

During the Winter Olympics, this would be an engaging task to include in your STEM lesson. Design teams plan, construct, and test a miniature ski lift that can carry a pingpong ball up and down a rope line without falling out. With 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...

Design a mission over the rainbow. Small groups spend several weeks together determining a mission related to spectroscopy. The teams build spectrographs and analyze the design to determine whether it will carry out the mission. At the...

Take a look with your class at how nature supplies inspiration to engineers. In cooperative groups, youngsters research biomimicry and then develop a system that would help support people living on the moon. Each team also considers...

Cancer patients need as much help as they can get. Future engineers design a system that delivers cancer medicine to the lungs but doesn't harm other organs. Using ferrofluids and iron particles, they test out their delivery systems.

Can our energy resources keep up with our ever-growing population? Science scholars learn the basics of energy and Earth's energy resources during an electrifying activity. The resource combines video clips and an engineering design...

How do people transport fresh water long distances to ensure everyone has access to it? The final activity in the 10-part Fresh Solutions unit encourages individuals to design their own solution, or solutions, to that very problem....

Use STEM activities within the class to provide connections to concepts. The resource includes activities that range from working with buoyancy to building rockets and launching them. Other activities involve the engineering design...

Talk about Velcro®, Gecko Tape, WhalePower turbine blades, and other innovations that mimic nature to inspire your STEM or engineering class. This set of worksheets gets them thinking about imitating nature in terms of sustainable...

The design challenge: develop a method to separate steel from aluminum. The first lesson plan in an eight-part series introduces the class to the grand challenge of ciming up with a method to streamline a sorting process at a...

Build and design to rock and roll. Pairs research building design in earthquake areas and use computer simulations to see the effects of earthquakes on buildings,. They then sketch and explain a building design that would withstand...

Students will design a scientific investigation. In this engineering design lesson, students will set up an investigation, collect data and form a conclusion about bridge design. They will use common household items to construct their...

Show your class how engineers use graphs to understand large and complex systems. The resource provides the beginnings of graph theory by introducing the class to set theory, graphs, and degree distributions of a graph. 

Watch out below! Future engineers come up with methods to ensure that a ball in a cup stays in the cup even after dropped from a given height. It might be prudent to include some kind of shock absorber in the cup. Parachutes are a good...

Water, water, everywhere, but not a drop to drink—until we clean it, of course! Scholars design a filtration device that removes pollutants from water. The goal is to have the water come out as clean as possible from the device. How...

How do changes in DNA affect an organism? Scholars explore chromosomes, genes, DNA, and mutations by modeling the DNA of a strawberry. They build a DNA model, then manipulate it to show how changing the genes transforms the strawberry...

Will that structure survive the force? The differentiated activity allows pairs to choose the structure they would like to construct and the building materials they wish to use. Individuals record their findings in...

If I change the length, will they work better? After brainstorming the variables of wind turbine blade design, groups choose one variable to isolate and test. The groups then present their data to the class in order for all to have the...

Build an air lift siphon using your mad physics skills! Learners first investigate the importance of circulating water in aquaponics systems. They then use density to their advantage as they engineer an air lift siphon