Howcast: How to Demonstrate Engineering Principles

Create bending joints—but don't break! The activity shows how to make a puppet using straws and fishing line. Pupils create cuts to make joints that rely on the elasticity of the straw to bend and return to their original shapes.

Introduce search engines with an activity that models how search engines work and the different algorithms they employ. Working in groups, class members then build search queries to demonstrate the knowledge learned.

In an effort to practice engineering design, STEM classes break out into teams and endeavor to make a working ink pen. To prepare, they read about writing implements through history, patents, and viscosity of liquids. Armed with this...

After examining how a spring scale works, teams work together to design their own general measurement device. Reading material provides background information, but there is no part of the procedure in which learners handle an actual...

ROY-G-BIV make up the colors in a rainbow. Watch a video that explains the science behind rainbows, and how to create one at home.

Here is a six-minute video of a pair of electrical engineers that illustrate how to build a wind turbine. A list of materials is provided, along with general guidelines for your class. Use this to introduce turbine design to your...

Young chefs follow the set-by-step instructions of a recipe and use their prior knowledge of the body parts of a spider to make edible spider cookies.  After completing a pre-writing graphic organizer they then write a "how to"...

Bring on the lights! Using an interactive, characters try to figure out how to light a skate park by examining area and ratios to determine the number of solar panels needed to power them. Pupils design a house with a roof to hold solar...

A nice, hot day is the perfect time to learn how to make ice cream! Three students in this video demonstrate the different steps to make homemade ice cream. Yum!

The perfect treat on a hot summer day is a nice, cold ice pop. The two boys in this video demonstrate how to make ice pops using cups, juice, plastic wrap, and a popsicle stick. Yum!