Building a Car: Mechanical Engineering

In this K-2 teaching module, students explore motion, gravity, friction, and energy using objects and model cars. They investigate using hands-on activities with vehicles, as well as online interactives and videos. The culminating event...

In this challenge, students will transfer rotational motion into linear motion by building a simple machine. The site also includes tips, a lesson plan, and a place for students to document their engineering design process.

Create a simple machine that transfers a rotational motion into linear vertical motion with this challenge. The site gives more details on the challenge as well as tips and place to document your design process. Teachers can find a...

This website challenges students to make a simple machine out of a straw to mimic the movement of joints in your body. The website includes a lesson plan, tips, and a place for students to document their design process.

Do you think you could build a game board that acts as a system of circuits to alert and navigate around obstacles? This site contains this challenge as well as a place for students to document their engineering design process, tips, and...

Make a simple machine that creates characters for a theater show on this site. This site contains a lesson plan, tips, and a place for students to document their engineering design process.

On this site, there is a challenge for students to engineer a machine that converts wind power into mechanical energy. This site also includes a lesson plan, tips, and a place for students to document their engineering design process.

Powered by the wind watch your boat move through the water. This challenge has students making a boat using simple household materials. The website also includes tips, a lesson plan, and a place for students to document their engineering...

Build a robotic face that can make facial expressions using simple machines on this website. This website includes the challenge, tips, a lesson plan, and a place for students to document their engineering design process.

A short video exploring how an engineer would build a car. [1:22]