Curated OER
Structural Stability - Legos
Students are introduced to a variety of design elements that promote structural stability including beams, joints and pins. They demonstrate the use of these elements with Lego constructions and compare the stability of several...
Curated OER
LEGO Construction Basics-The RCX
Learners build a stable car after examining the RCX. They determine how to incorporate the RCX into their design using Legos to build a car.
Curated OER
Where's the Water?
Fifth graders conduct an investigation into water purification during a role play situation in an Amazon Rainforest. They design a scientific experiment for cleaning and filtering water.
Curated OER
Level 4 Pilot Programming
Students design a car with two motors and then program the car to accomplish specific tasks within Pilot 4. They work in teams in order to program their own car in order to accomplish specific tasks outlined by the teacher. They write...
Curated OER
Bobsled Challange
Students investigate the effects of materials on the friction between a "bobsled" and the track. They explore the effects of weight on the motion of the bobsled. Students design a bobsled for either fast or slow movement. They discuss...
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...
Curated OER
TE Activity: Testing the Caverns
Students 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 whole class...
Curated OER
Peak Performance
Students design and build a car that is capable of traveling across the floor quickly, and also up a steep ramp.
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Transformation With A Firefly Gene
High schoolers 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...
Curated OER
Technology Tackling Biofilms
Students 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.
Curated OER
I Breathe What?
Middle schoolers 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...
Curated OER
Breaking Beams
Pupils 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.
Curated OER
Refining Search Skills When Developing Student-Based Web Sites
Learners 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.
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
Integrated Resource Management
High schoolers 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,...
Curated OER
Does Contact Area Matter?
Learners 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.
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Artist's Work/Artist's Voice: Louis I. Kahn
Learners explore the process of construction and architecture. In this construction research instructional activity, students complete image based discussion activities and three related activities for architecture and design.
Curated OER
Robot Olympics
Young scholars 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.