After reading the story "Dear Mr. Henshaw" by Beverly Cleary, students will build an alarm system for something in the classroom, as the main character Leigh does to protect his lunchbox from thieves. Students will learn about alarms and...

This interactive activity produced for Teachers' Domain presents users with three hypothetical scenarios in which they are challenged to design a wind power system that will meet their electrical needs.

[Free Registration/Login Required] In this design challenge, your child will be asked to create a bottle rocket using typical household items. The list of materials includes everything they will need to create and launch a rocket, and we...

A technology consultant discusses what "flexibility" means in the context of design. He tries to understand what a client means when they say they want a flexible design. His goal is to come up with a design that focuses on the user. The...

This article describes the process by which an engineer at OXO looked at design, size, and variety when he redesigned OXO's line of POP containers.

Industrial engineers improve processes by eliminating any waste of time, money, energy, or other resources. They need to understand how every part can affect the entire process and figure out how to balance each part to design the most...

In this activity, you will become an engineer and design and build a gingerbread house that must fulfill specific design requirements.

One of the key aspects of the design thinking process is to be able to identify needs and opportunities for design endeavors. Students need to investigate, explore and critique needs, opportunities, and information in order to define the...

[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read about using a design process to solve problems while building new buildings. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.

This activity first asks the students to study the patterns of bird flight and understand that four main forces affect the flight abilities of a bird. They will study the shape, feather structure, and resulting differences in the pattern...

Students modify a provided App Inventor code to design their own diseases. This serves as the evolution step in the software/systems design process. The activity is essentially a mini design cycle in which students are challenged to...

Learners learn about the techniques engineers have developed for changing ocean water into drinking water, including thermal and membrane desalination. They begin by reviewing the components of the natural water cycle. They see how...

Make a cantilever that can hold 5 marbles at least 12 inches away from its base structure with this engineering challenge. The site contains the challenge, a lesson plan, tips, and a place for students to document their engineering process.

This unit is designed for advanced programming classes. It leads students through a study of human vision and computer programming simulation. Students apply their previous knowledge of arrays and looping structures to implement a new...

Can you lift pennies with water? In this challenge, students will build a machine that uses a fluid to move and can lift at least 10 pennies. On this site, there is also tips, a lesson plan, and a place for students to document their...

Can you build a 3-D object out of tetrahedra that is as big as you are? With this challenge, students will be using common household items to build their tetrahedra structure. Site contains the challenge, tips, a lesson plan, and a place...

In this two-period lesson plan, students work in teams to focus on the real-world application of bridge design and construction based on capacity, cost, and aesthetics.

In this challenge, students will draw an animal with accurate proportions. The website includes tips, a lesson plan, and a place for students to document their process.

Students apply the design process to the problem of hiding a message in a digital image using steganographic methods, a PictureEdit Java class, and API (provided as an attachment). They identify the problems and limitations associated...

Students focus on the testing phase of the design process by considering how they have tested computer programs in the past and learning about a new method called JUnit to test programs in the future. JUnit is a testing method that is...

Students apply their mathematics and team building skills to explore the concept of rocketry.Throughout the design process, teamwork is emphasized since the most successful launches occur when groups work effectively to generate creative...

Students are introduced to the classification of animals and animal interactions. Students also learn why engineers need to know about animals and how they use that knowledge to design technologies that help other animals and/or humans....

Students gain an understanding of the parts of a plant, plant types and how they produce their own food from sunlight through photosynthesis. They also learn about transpiration, the process by which plants release moisture to the...

Students explore the biosphere and its associated environments and ecosystems in the context of creating a model ecosystem, learning along the way about the animals and resources. Students investigate different types of ecosystems, learn...