Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Design and Build a Rube Goldberg

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this two-part activity, students design and build a Rube Goldberg machine. The open ended problem uses the engineering design process and can have a preset purpose, such as rolling a marble into a cup from a distance, or can be left...
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Problem Solve Your School

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students apply what they have learned about the engineering design process to a real-life problem that affects them and/or their school. They chose a problem as a group, and then follow the engineering design process to come up with and...
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Hot Problem Solving

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Student teams follow the steps of the engineering design process to meet the challenge of getting their entire class from one location on the playground to the sidewalk without touching the ground between. The class develops a well...
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Chair Design

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students become familiar with the Engineering Design Process as they design and build prototypes for a chair. The miniature chair must be sturdy and functional enough to hold a wooden, hinged artist model or floppy stuffed animal.
Article
Other

Synthesis Engineering Services: Optimizing the Design Process

For Students 9th - 10th
This article discusses the design process from the concept phase to the production phase and what's involved in accomplishing this in the shortest possible time with the least cost.
Unit Plan
REMC Association of Michigan

Remc Association of Michigan: 21 Things4 Students: 15. Design Thinking

For Students 3rd - 8th
Design Thinking is a process for designing something to solve a problem. It shares a lot of similarities to the Engineering Design Process you might learn in a STEM class and the Scientific Method you learn in science. However, it tends...
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Engineer a Coin Sorter

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students learn about the engineering design process and how it is used to engineer products for everyday use. Students individually brainstorm solutions for sorting coins and draw at least two design ideas. They work in small groups to...
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Engineering Pop Ups

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students learn about applied forces as they create pop-up-books - the art of paper engineering. They also learn the basic steps of the engineering design process.
Activity
Technovation

Curiosity Machine: Challenges: Engineer a Safe Stopping Robot

For Students Pre-K - 1st
A challenge for students to design and engineer a robot that turns itself off when it leaves a safe area. This challenge contains tips, a lesson plan, and a place for students to document their engineering design process.
Activity
Technovation

Curiosity Machine: Challenges: Engineer an Automated Wrapping Machine

For Students Pre-K - 1st
On this site, find a challenge to design and build a machine that can make plane fuselage by wrapping a mold just like Boeing's carbon fiber placement machines. While working on the challenge, students will find a lesson plan, tips, and...
Activity
Technovation

Curiosity Machine: Challenges: Engineer a Fuel Level Detector

For Students Pre-K - 1st
This site contains a challenge for students to engineer a sensor that can detect how much fuel is in your tank. The site also contains tips, a lesson plan, and a place for students to document their engineering design process.
Activity
Technovation

Curiosity Machine: Challenges: Engineer an Electronic Water Level Detector

For Students Pre-K - 1st
Make a device that will notify people when the water level drops in this challenge. Students will do this by building an open circuit that completes when the water level drops below a certain level and/or goes above a certain level. The...
Activity
Technovation

Curiosity Machine: Challenges: Engineer a Self Deploying Device

For Students Pre-K - 1st
Construct a device that opens up when thrown into the air on this website. The website also includes tips, a lesson plan, and a place for students to document their engineering design process.
Activity
Technovation

Curiosity Machine: Challenges: Engineer an Airfoil

For Students Pre-K - 1st
Do you know how an airplane flys? Use this challenge to learn about flight by building a wing that can generate lift from a fan while carrying weight. Find details about the challenge, tips, and a lesson plan on this site. Also, students...
Activity
Technovation

Curiosity Machine: Challenges: Engineer a Skyscraper for the Wind

For Students Pre-K - 1st
A challenge for students to build a skyscraper that stands strong in the wind and is at least 18 inches tall. This challenge includes tips, a lesson plan, and a place for students to document their engineering design process.
Activity
Technovation

Curiosity Machine: Challenges: Engineer a Bird Beak

For Students Pre-K - 1st
In this challenge, students will construct a beak that will allow them to pick up as much food as possible in one try without using their hands. This website includes the challenge, tips, a lesson plan, and a place for students to...
Activity
Technovation

Curiosity Machine: Challenges: Engineer a Space Tool

For Students Pre-K - 1st
Using common household items, make a tool that an astronaut could use to pick up an object in space. This site also includes tips, lesson plans, and a place for students to document their engineering design process.
Activity
Technovation

Curiosity Machine: Challenges: Engineer an Exoskeleton

For Students Pre-K - 1st
This site challenges students to build a wearable device that will detect when your body moves. The site contains tips, a lesson plan, and a place for students to document their engineering design process.
Lesson Plan
Other

The Design Museum: Can You Redesign an Object to Make It Easier to Use?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Grant Douglas has cerebral palsy and needs assistance to eat. While he was sitting at home being fed cornflakes by his mum, the phone rang. She answered it and as she talked, Grant could see his cornflakes getting soggier and soggier....
Unit Plan
PBS

Pbs Kids: Design Squad: Ets1 1:activities and Videos: Health and Improving Lives

For Students 4th - 7th
This PBS site contains activities that are hands-on challenges, animations, career profiles, and videos that focus on the engineering design process. They use simple materials, allow for multiple solutions, and are ideal for ages 9-12.
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Broken Bones

For Teachers 9th - 10th
The purpose of this activity is to introduce students to the concept of the engineering design process and to teach them how to apply it. In "Broken Bones," students will explore the steps of the engineering design process. They will...
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Shapes of Strength

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students are introduced to brainstorming and the design process in problem solving as it relates to engineering. They perform an activity to develop and understand problem solving with an emphasis on learning from history. Using only...
Activity
Technovation

Curiosity Machine: Challenges: Engineer a Communication Network

For Students Pre-K - 1st
Using some everyday household materials, students are challenged to design and build a network to send communication signals in multiple directions to multiple people. To help students accomplish this challenge there are tips, a lesson...
Activity
Technovation

Curiosity Machine: Challenges: Engineer a Flow Control System

For Students Pre-K - 1st
In this engineering challenge, students will build a system that controls the movement of material and shuts off automatically. This site includes tips, a lesson plan, and a place for students to document their design process.