Teach Engineering
Better By Design
Which modification is the best? Using the scientific method, pairs determine the effects of each control surface on the distance of a glider's flight. The activity, section 16 in a 22-part unit on aviation, allows pupils to gain a better...
Teach Engineering
Design a Flying Machine
Wrap up the unit in one final design. Pairs use their knowledge of aviation to design new flying machines and record how their designs take into consideration the forces that act upon airplanes. The pupils determine whether their designs...
Teach Engineering
What a Drag!
Stop and drop what is in your hand! Pupils investigate how form effects drag in the 12th part of a 22-part unit on aviation. Groups create equally weighted objects and determine which one falls the fastest by collecting data.
Teach Engineering
Optimize! Cleaner Energy Options for Rural China
What are the trade-offs when looking to get the most benefit from an energy source? Small groups compare the cost-to-emission levels of several energy sources by looking at the information graphically. The groups utilize this information...
Perkins School for the Blind
Mixtures and Solutions
Mixtures and solutions are different; one can be separated fairly easily and the other cannot. This hands-on experiment was written specifically for learners with visual impairments or blindness. They will use lemonade and trail mix to...
Teach Engineering
Gumdrop Atoms
There's nothing sticky about the resource, unless you count the gumdrops! Scholars create a model of a lithium atom, complete with protons, neutrons, and electrons. It's just that these models are made with gumdrops and toothpicks.
DiscoverE
Paper Tower
Read all about it! Challenge your class to build taller and stronger. Newspapers provide the means to build towers in a simple activity. Scholars try to build as tall a tower as possible with just two sheets of newspaper.
Teach Engineering
Messin' with Mixtures
Do you separate your trail mix before eating it? Then you've been separating mixtures your whole life! Scholars model a contaminated soil sample using trail mix and estimate the percentage of each component. They consider how to clean up...
Teach Engineering
Maximum Mentos Fountain
A messy fountain is potentially an energy experiment in disguise. Groups investigate the variables in creating a fountain from soda and Mentos. The last activity in a six-part series on energy has the class observe the fountain in terms...
Teach Engineering
Building-Testing-Improving Paper Airplanes: Head's Up!
Take foldables to all new heights. Pupils build and fly different types of paper airplanes in the 14th portion of a 22-part unit on aviation. Groups collect data on distance and flight time for each plane and compare the data from the...
Teach Engineering
Physics Tug of War
Slide books with a little assistance from Newton. Using books, groups create a demonstration of Newton's Second Law of motion. Pupils compare the distance traveled by one and two books when they apply a force to them.
Agriculture in the Classroom
Pumpkins... Not Just For Halloween
Celebrate fall with four pumpkin themed hands-on activities! After learning about pumpkins, scholars complete two activity sheets that reinforce estimation and word problems. They then plant pumpkin seeds and bake a pie in a bag.
DiscoverE
Squishy Circuits
Make electricity flow through Play-Doh. Individuals create animals or other creatures using Play-Doh. The engineering aspect? Eyes that light up and Play-Doh that conducts electricity.
DiscoverE
Creepy Putty
Mold your learners into materials engineers. Using glue, Borax, and water, scholars create a viscoelastic material. But your class might know it by another name—Silly Putty.
DiscoverE
Paper Recycling
Paper is made from paper, right? Future scientists take bits of paper and produce sheets of recycled paper. The only drawback? It has to dry overnight.
DiscoverE
Slime!!
Who's going to get slimed? Your entire class! Scholars create slime using Borax, water, and white glue. Some food coloring can give the slime a bit of color.
Teach Engineering
Engineering and the Periodic Table
Elements, to the rescue! Scholars first review the periodic table, and then learn about the first 20 elements and their properties and uses in the fourth of six lessons in the Mixtures and Solutions unit. Applying their newfound...
Teach Engineering
Let's Get it There Fast
Are planes the best shipping method? Using maps, pupils determine the fastest mode of transportation between two cities. Given a list of items to ship, groups decide the best shipping method to finish the 18th segment of a 22-part unit.
Teach Engineering
Spool Racer Design and Competition
Wind it up and let it go. Individuals build a basic spool racer in the second portion of a six-part unit on energy. After receiving three criteria, pupils modify their designs to meet the new challenge. Pairs compete against each other...
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...
National Park Service
The Young Naturalist
Beginning with a brief history of our 26th president, Theodore Roosevelt, then followed by a discussion of his interest in nature, young scientists take to the outdoors to locate and observe local plants and insects. Scholars return to...
PBS
Season Seeking
It's a time of change. A hands-on activity engages young scientists in a lesson highlighting the change of seasons. They brainstorm indicators of season changes in nature and then look for them. Next, they record observations in a field...
PBS
Twirling in the Breeze
Blow classes away with a hands-on lesson investigating wind speed. Learners use common materials to design and construct anemometers. They then test their anemometers and collect data on the wind speed created by a fan.
DiscoverE
Hoop Glider
Fly into an engineering lesson sure to get your scholars' interest off the ground. Young pupils create hoop gliders out of straws and paper hoops. Adjusting the size and number of the hoops lets them investigate the effect on flight...
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