DiscoverE
Make Your Own Glue
You won't regret being stuck with this activity. By mixing a variety of household items, pupils create their own glue. They test the tensile strength of their glue and compare it to that of other adhesives.
Teach Engineering
Making Moon Craters
Create an egg-citing study of energy. Pupils investigate the effect of height and mass on the overall amount of energy of a falling object. The fourth segment in a six-part series on energy uses a weighted egg falling from different...
DiscoverE
Critical Load
Help your class master the important concept of critical load. Pupils work together to build a structure using 12 playing cards. They test the critical load of the structure using pennies or paper clips.
Carnegie Mellon University
Technical Sketching Worksheets
How do you create a technical drawing? Cover the basics of technical sketching with a few practice sketches of simple shapes. A technical sketching lesson introduces the proper precision measurement techniques. Pupils progress to draw...
NASA
Touchdown
Individuals design and build a set of shock absorbers to protect their astronauts when they land. Using a limited amount of supplies, pupils build a system that will keep two large marshmallows from flying out of a cup when it lands...
NASA
Feel the Heat
Pupils examine how solar energy can supply power and heat on the lunar surface. As groups design and build a solar-powered water heating system, they test their system to determine the change in temperature of the water and redesign it...
Rochester Institue of Technology
Meal Picking
Scholars explore systems design and its relation to meal picking by using computer simulations to test systems designs. They learn about the Pick-to-Light System and calculate average picking times.
Rochester Institute of Technology
Skateboard Performance Testing
Perform an activity on performance testing with a lesson focused on the purpose of wheel bearings on skateboards. Learners conduct performance testing on a skateboard to collect and interpret data.
Science NetLinks
Green Roof Design
Green roofs aren't just eco-friendly — they are literally green with trees. Groups learn about the concept of green roofs in order to be able to design one. The groups design a 5,000-square-foot green roof for a fictional apartment row...
Teach Engineering
Maker Challenge: Adding Helpful Carrier Devices to Crutches
Make breaking a leg a less troublesome experience. Groups brainstorm designs for crutches that have devices that help carry items. They build prototypes of their devices to test out their designs.
Science Matters
Earthquake Building/Shaking Contest
Japan is one of only a handful of countries that constructs buildings that are almost earthquake proof. The 13th lesson in the 20-part series challenges scholars to build structures to test against earthquakes. With limited materials and...
DiscoverE
Water Sampling
What is the best way to test water quality? Using plastic bottles, scholars create monitoring sensors to test water quality. Creating three different sensors allows individuals to measure water quality at different water levels.
DiscoverE
Rubber Band Rovers
Get your learners interested in space exploration. Groups design space rovers using design software and then build prototypes of their designs. The farther the rovers can travel, the better. The catch? The rovers must be powered by...
DiscoverE
Lego Structures
Let your class become master builders. Scholars use Legos® or K'nex® pieces to create a structure that looks like an actual building in existence. The time limit is 12 minutes, so you better start building!
DiscoverE
Emergency Shelter
Save yourself! Groups create a sturdy emergency shelter out of bamboo. The shelter must be large enough to fit one person. Now the most important question: Which member of the group gets to use the shelter in an emergency?
DiscoverE
Build a Better Boomerang
This isn't the boomerang you're used to. Scholars first see how a commercial boomerang works. They then cut out a four-wing boomerang and test its flight to compare it to that of the commercial boomerang.
DiscoverE
Siphon Pump
Defy the laws of gravity. A simple activity has learners create a siphon pump for water. The challenge is to get water to flow upwards through a tube.
Kenan Fellows
Detecting Rise in Body Temperature in Human and Animals and its Effects on Health
Beat the heat using sensors. Scholars research normal body temperatures for humans and a specific animal. In groups, they create sensors that monitor body temperature, as well as the weather. The goal is to reduce the occurrence of heat...
Kenan Fellows
The Little Stuff Can Make a Big Difference
Great things come in small packages! What better way to illustrate this point than a week-long look at nanotechnology? Earth science scholars explore water quality issues through lab activities, then research new innovations in nanotech...
Mascil Project
Parachute Food Drop
Drop a perfect project into your lesson plans. Groups use different building materials to create models of parachutes for food drops. After testing out their prototypes, they make improvements to their designs.
NASA
Pop! Rockets
Off they go — launching rockets is fun. The lesson plan contains templates to build paper rockets that can be launched from a PVC pipe launcher. Individuals or groups build the rockets and determine the shapes for their fins. Included...
NASA
Rocket Wind Tunnel
Using a teacher-built wind tunnel constructed from a paper concrete tube form, a fan, and a balance, individuals determine the amount of drag their rocket design will experience in flight. Pupils make modifications to increase the...
Code.org
Sending Binary Messages with the Internet Simulator
Show your class how to develop a protocol to solve a problem. Pupils then continue with working with binary messages but refine a protocol to assist with the distinction of individual bits by including a bit rate. Finally, the pairs use...
Code.org
Routers and Redundancy
How are messages to the right recipient? Introduce the concept of routing Internet traffic by drawing a comparison to sending a letter. Groups use the Internet Simulator program to send messages to others using the same router and...