Curated OER
The BEAM Project: Building Efficient Architectural Models
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,...
Teach Engineering
Strength of Materials
Pupils examine a stress-strain diagram that compares the advantages and disadvantages of the two common bridge building materials, concrete and steel. The also consider the factors that influence the materials builders choose for their...
Curated OER
Building a House
Study the different materials needed to build a house. Kindergartners and first graders read five sentence frames, and match the phrases that describe wood planks, glass, and clay. An experiment prompts kids to test different types of...
Curated OER
Materials We Use
How can you tell if something is made out of wood, metal, or plastic? Kids use noise and visual cues to determine what various household items are made from. They then examine their toys at home and record the materials used to make...
DiscoverE
Bridges, Buildings and Beyond Activity Packet: Grades 3-5
The road to a better understanding of engineering lies with bridges and tunnels. A set of four engaging activities teaches learners about engineering concepts related to construction projects. They perform an experiment to find the...
Texas Education Agency (TEA)
Build a Paper Structure
Who knew that paper is an amazing building material? Scholars learn about the properties of planar materials, such as paper, as well as their structural capabilities in the sixth lesson a series of 11 on architecture. Working in groups,...
DiscoverE
Design a Dome
Do domed structures have advantages over their less-than-spherical counterparts? Junior architects explore the pros and cons of domes through a design challenge. Teams work together to plan, sketch, build, and test domes created from an...
Curated OER
Good Old Earth Materials
Students investigate different types of building structures and how they are able to stand up to earthquakes. Through comparison they determine which buildings are better able to handle earthquakes than others. They create a building,...
Teach Engineering
Fun Look at Material Science
Introduce materials science with a class demonstration. After showing a PowerPoint presentation on materials and their properties, instructors provide a ceramic tile, a Popsicle stick, a paper clip, and a plastic bag as examples of...
Teach Engineering
Bridge Types: Tensile and Compressive Forces
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 activity to record their observations of the reaction of...
DiscoverE
Build a Bobsled Racer
Host a design challenge of Olympic proportion! Junior engineers build their own bobsleds using simple materials. The activity focuses on kinetic and potential energy and how the center of mass affects motion on a downhill track....
Cornell University
Bridge Building
Bridge the gaps in your knowledge of bridges. Individuals learn about bridge types by building models. The activity introduces beam bridges, arch bridges, truss bridges, and suspension bridges.
DiscoverE
Build a Bridge
Cost overruns are unacceptable—in the real world and in an engaging activity. Groups of pupils get together to build a bridge out of straws, paper cups, and tape. They keep track of costs ($1,000 for each material) and must stay within a...
Curated OER
Building Bridges
Provide a comprehensive exploration of bridges and civil engineering. First, learners discuss the different types of bridges. Then, they identify the characteristics of a suspension, beam, and arch type of bridge. In addition, they learn...
California Academy of Science
Building Better Buses: Transportation Design Challenges
Scholars learn about a series of three challenges when they design a bus system for a small town. They determine the bus routes and then figure out the best type of fuel to use before considering the cost of going electric. Learners...
NASA
Designing and Building the Lunar Plant Growth Chamber
Build a place for the plants. Using information learned from the previous lesson in the unit, learners design a lunar plant growth chamber and build a paper model of it. Given strips of paper that represent different sizes of planting...
Curated OER
Boat Hull Design
Working in small groups young scholars develop three alternative boat designs. They discuss the rationale for the type of hull, propeller, location of ballast, and type of building material used in their design. They build their boat.
DiscoverE
Build a Straw Bridge
Build teamwork skills while building a bridge. Scholars work together in groups to create a bridge out of 20 straws and tape. There is a minimum span length of 25 centimeters, but otherwise, let creativity run wild.
Berkshire Museum
Backyard Rocks
You don't have to travel far to learn about rocks, just step outside, pick up a stone, and begin investigating. After taking a class walk around the school grounds collecting rocks, young scientists practice their skills of observation...
Teach Engineering
Cost Comparisons
Our final proposal for the cost of the bridge requested is ... In the last segment in a series of 10, pairs work together to develop a proposal for a city bridge design. The class completes a cost comparison between concrete and steel to...
Teach Engineering
Building a Barometer
Forget your local meteorologist — build your own barometer and keep track of the weather with an activity that provides directions to build a barometer out of a narrow necked bottle, a glass, and some water. Using their barometer, teams...
Scholastic
STEM Challenges and Activity Sheets for Grades 6–8
From 3-D cities to building bridges, young engineers engage in innovative STEM challenges that promote brainstorming and collaboration. Learners take on the roles of different types of engineers as well as become familiar...
Science Matters
Landforms from Volcanoes
Three major types of volcanoes exist: cinder cone, composite/strata, and shield. The 18th lesson in a 20-part series covers the various landforms created from volcanoes. Scholars work in pairs to correctly identify the three types based...
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District
Parts of Speech Nouns: Building Blocks of Grammar
An engaging PowerPoint presentation helps scholars learn the definition of a noun and provides examples of different types of nouns, such as person, place, abstract, and concrete nouns. Formative assessments within the resource check...