Individuals discover how to draw cubes on triangle-dot paper. They use cubes to build structures and draw corresponding isometric drawings on dot paper in the second lesson of the series of five. The activity also introduces the concept...

Space, the Final Frontier. The nine NASA-created challenges in this unit are designed to teach class members the engineering design process. Each challenge comes with teacher and student pages that can be used individually or as a...

Wrap up the unit in one final design. Pairs use their knowledge of aviation to design new flying machines and record how their designs take into consideration the forces that act upon airplanes. The pupils determine whether their designs...

Filippo Brunelleschi's invention of linear perspective during the Renaissance was further developed by his apprentice, a young artist named Leonardo da Vinci. Now modern artists can give da Vinci's famous perspectograph a try...

How well can you launch a ping-pong ball? Small groups design launchers that can launch a ping-pong ball 20 feet into a target. The teams follow the engineering design process as they develop a solution that meets the design...

Bridges rely on tension and compression to keep them standing. Pairs test this principle by constructing simple bridges and applying a force to the center. Teams use the provided worksheet to record their observations of the...

How do engineers determine the most efficient highway designs? Introduce young scientists to the world of topology, the branch of mathematics that examines how things are connected. Teams use model highways to create the most...

Can you build it? Yes you can! This interactive game includes four design challenges presented on separate cards. The cards outline the challenges with limited restrictions but with an end goal in mind. The competitions include building...

Sometimes it seems as if earthquakes hit the same places over and over again. Class members study Japan in order to determine why earthquakes keep happening there. Pairs work together to research and try to determine whether there...

Challenge your class with this fun and engaging engineering design project. The goal, to create a brand new cereal complete with a list of ingredients, a name and logo, and a box to hold it in. Starting with a survey to determine the...

Art and science sometimes go hand in hand. A set of four activities for learners in grades 3-5 teaches engineering concepts as part of art projects. Class members build homemade robots, elastic puppets, musical instruments, and...

The choice is simple: create a PowerPoint presentation, write a book, or invent a compound machine. Whichever project your young scientists choose, they will be engaged in creatively demonstrating their knowledge of simple...

How can your draw three-dimensional figures on paper? The lesson shows pupils how to draw orthographic projections of three-dimensional figures composed of cubes. After viewing a PowerPoint presentation, they practice this skill with...

Groups work together to design a lighthouse, from designing and drawing the wiring diagram, to creating prototypes of the switch and circuit, to envisioning and building a scale model along with a blueprint. By including different...

Class members use a compass and several points to map out the magnetic field of a magnet. Pairs trace the magnetic field lines produced by a permanent magnet by positioning the compass in numerous spots around the magnet to view the...

Teams use the design process to design, build, and test a model levee to protect the town from a wall of water. A handout provides a price list for the materials learners can use to build their levee within a budget.

Whose home is it anyway? Design teams plan a housing development in which they must also protect a native species. The teams consist of a project manager, civil engineer, environmental engineer, and graphic designer. Teams present their...

Your class will be blown away when they build their own city tower structure! Engineering scholars partner up to plan, build, and test their own paper towers. As they build, they gain valuable design skills, learn about wind tunnel...

It's time to slow your roll! Can your class create a track that allows a marble to roll as slowly as possible? Teams of science scholars collaborate to design, build, and test their tubes while learning about gravity and friction.

Meet me in the tunnels. Scholars choose a tunnel entrance and mark it on their side of the cardboard. They describe the location to their partners and see if they can guess each other's locations. Punching a hole through the cardboard...

Make fast food restaurants even faster. Groups consider trade-offs when maximizing efficiency in fast food restaurants. Restructuring schedules and floor plans, as well reassigning job duties, all fall under this directive.  

In this second of three activities, energy engineers plan and create a hydropower dam as they learn how hydroelectric power plants generate electricity. A hydropower puzzle is also included, which can be worked on by teams that finish...

You have to crack a few eggs to make a good engineer! Working in small groups, young scholars design, build, and test devices that protect an egg from breaking when dropped from a ladder.

Ramp up the engineering design process in your classroom with an activity that challenges teams to design, build, and test a small-scale portable wheelchair ramp. The class develops design requirements, and teams test their designs...