Tech Museum of Innovation
Energy at Play
Get the ball rolling and challenge your class to figure out how to make a ball move. The instruction segment is between two STEM activities devoted to doing just that. The first is simple and involves making a ball move from some...
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TE Activity: Testing the Caverns
Middle schoolers make model caverns out of paper mache or clay. They bury them in a tray of sand, and test the models by dropping balls into them simulating as asteroid hitting the earth. They discuss the results of the activity in a...
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Peak Performance
Students design and build a car that is capable of traveling across the floor quickly, and also up a steep ramp.
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An Introduction to Thermal Spray Technology
Students discuss difference between kinetic and thermal energy, develop and demonstrate understanding of key concepts and characteristics underlying thermal spray techniques, list items used in their daily lives that are coated, examine...
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Charge It!
Students complete an experiment using balloons to help them examine the concept of static electricity. They discover how engineers use this information to create better air filters for homes. They describe how to charge an insulator as...
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Transformation With A Firefly Gene
Students understand the process of bacterial transformation through experimentation. They describe the function of two important genes of the pBestLuc plasmid. They explain how to induce competence in E. coli cells.
Serendip
Is Yeast Alive?
Through two investigations, life science learners determine whether or not yeast is alive. They perform tests for metabolism by providing sugar and observing if gas is produced as a byproduct. They incubate some of the sample for at...
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Technology Tackling Biofilms
Pupils use their knowledge of biofilms to design a model of a new toothbrush to tackle dental biofilms. In addition, they evaluate the product, and communicate the process of the technological design.
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I Breathe What?
Students participate in an experiment in which they gather and examine particiles in the air. They place pollution detectors at different locations and identify problem areas. They discuss how engineers can use this type of information...
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Breaking Beams
Students work together designing and building their own beams. They discover the concepts of stress and strain. They participate in a competition to determine the best beam.
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Refining Search Skills When Developing Student-Based Web Sites
Students become familiar with the process of using search engines to locate information on the Internet. They continue the process of developing their own web sites and make one ready for posting on the Internet.
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Water Filtration
Students work together to examine the role of water in their lives. They discover the process to clean water so it is clean for one to drink. They explore the role of environmental engineers and their problem of getting clean water to...
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You've Got to See It to Believe It!
Fifth graders examine smog and particulate matter as two major visible air pollutants. They discover how the pollutants formed and how engineers work on visible air pollution. They design an advertisement for a hybrid vehicle.
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Integrated Resource Management
Students identify and analyze the concept of integrated resource management. Then they identify the importance of computers in manufacturing management. Students also identify and define the meaning of acronyms such as CAD, CAM, CIM,...
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Does Contact Area Matter?
Students work together to design and implement an experiment on friction. They test to see if contact area affects the amount of friction. They discover how engineers use friction to make certain products better.
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Making Paper
Students explore how natural earth materials are processed into a human-made product. They simulate a manufacturing process by making paper. Students review the importance of recycling in preserving our natural earth resources.
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Production and Manufacturing/ Interlocking Project Production
Students plan and design their project idea and demonstrate what their product looks like. They make a set of instructions describing a process that could be used to manufacture this product in an industrial setting. Students are given...
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Artist's Work/Artist's Voice: Louis I. Kahn
Students explore the process of construction and architecture. In this construction research lesson, students complete image based discussion activities and three related activities for architecture and design.
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Robot Olympics
Students design a robot based on given requirements. In this technology lesson, student test whether their robots can perform certain tasks. They present and discuss their program design.
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Let Your Ears Do the Walking
Students examine the effects of bycatching on water environments. They discover how echolocation works. They participate in a simulation of the process to use it while walking blindfolded.
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Testing Weather Proverbs
Middle schoolers study weather proverbs. In this weather lesson, students list weather proverbs and complete the worksheet to test the proverb. Middle schoolers design an experiment to test the weather proverbs and conduct the experiments.
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Robot Labyrinth
Young scholars design a flowchart for their robotic program. In this physics lesson, students construct a robot that can navigate certain obstacles. They present their program and robots in class.
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TE Activity: A Merry-Go-Round for Dirty Air
Young scholars observe a simulation of a cyclone to examine a method of pollutant recovery in cleaning industrial air pollution. They examine how engineers develop technology to reduce air pollution and determine percentages for...
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Wind Turbines
Pupils build their own wind turbine. In this physics lesson, students calculate the power output of their wind turbines. They evaluate their design and make the necessary modifications.