Waterproof that Roof!

Stop the raindrops from getting into the house! Eager engineers learn about roofing history and waterproofing by nanotechnology. They get into groups and work on designing a waterproof roof for a small model house. The accompanying...

Can your pupils build a roof that stands the test of time? Use an insightful engineering design project to highlight both materials science and architecture. Scholars either team up or work as individuals to design, create, and test a...

Does your shirt hate water? In the activity, future engineers observe the hydrophobic effect in fabrics. They brainstorm and test some ideas for waterproofing fabrics.

Technology or engineering teams are given a task to design, construct, and test the efficiency of a structure that will foster an even temperature throughout an entire sunny day. Intended as a long-term project, pupils research, plan,...

What's the best way to learn how watersheds work? Build one! Combining engineering, the water cycle, and ecology concerns, the activity is the perfect fit for an interdisciplinary unit. Teams construct a model watershed with simple...

Aspiring space engineers design a rocket launch platform together to explore materials. The platform needs to be lightweight so that it can be transported easily, but super strong so that it can support the weight of the rocket and its...

Engineer a bright future in civil engineering. A set of four engaging lessons covers the engineering design process. In groups, young engineers design and build models of a bridge, a skyscraper, and a dam, and then test the strength of...

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...

Imagine precisely cutting and then moving a 120 ton boulder more than two miles without mechanical cutting tolls, skid loaders, or hydraulic cranes. Imagine carving a stone figure that includes a drainage system that permits rainwater to...

Try your hand at scale models. Scholars create a scale model of an object using a scale factor of their choice. As part of the project, they give presentations on their processes and calculations. This is the last installment of the...