Science NetLinks
Green Roof Design
Green roofs aren't just eco-friendly — they are literally green with trees. Groups learn about the concept of green roofs in order to be able to design one. The groups design a 5,000-square-foot green roof for a fictional apartment row...
Teach Engineering
Paper Towers and Pool Balls Design Challenge
Those who build together learn together. Scholars work in groups on two teamwork-building activities that involve engineering design. They first construct the tallest tower they can using five sheets of paper and masking tape. Next, they...
Illinois Valley Community College
STEM Activities for Middle School Students
Use STEM activities within the class to provide connections to concepts. The resource includes activities that range from working with buoyancy to building rockets and launching them. Other activities involve the engineering design...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Tall Tower Challenge
A fun and challenging activity for nearly any age group, partners must work together to build the tallest structure possible using paper clips, straws, and pipe cleaners. In addition to being tall, the structure must also be able to...
Kenan Fellows
Impacting the Risk of Falling: How Do Accelerometers Work?
Young engineers consider how to apply accelerometers and sensors to help prevent falls in elderly people. They consider forces of motion and gravity as part of the engineering design process.
Berkeley Engineering and Mentors
Marshmallow Challenge
Here is a lesson in collaboration cleverly disguised as an engineering design activity. There is no background material for you to teach here, just instructions about materials and rules for participating groups. Use this as an...
Skyscraper Museum
Building a Skyscraper
The construction of skyscrapers is no simple undertaking, involving the careful coordination and planning of many different people. The third instructional activity in this series explores this detailed process by first teaching children...
Kenan Fellows
Engineering Skills Through Problem Based Learning
Navigate the ups and downs of learning about energy. Future engineers consider how potential and kinetic energy apply to roller coasters. They design a roller coaster of their own and then use computer design software to showcase their...
University of Wisconsin
Designing a Rain Garden
Now it's time for all of the data collected in previous lessons to be applied to the design of a rain garden. This resource can only be used as part of the greater whole, since learners will need to rely on gathered knowledge in order to...
NASA
Roving on the Moon
Build a rover for pennies in a fun-filled activity! Young engineers design, build, test, and evaluate a lunar rover model. Using rubber bands, plastic straws, and cardboard, teams collaborate to make a rover model with spinning wheels....
NASA
Touchdown
Just how do astronauts stay safe during moon landings? Here's an activity that allows investigators to use the engineering process to explore how shock absorbers protect astronauts during landing. Applying knowledge of gravity, force,...
Kenan Fellows
The Newton Challenge
Make Newton proud. Scholars apply their understanding of forces and energy to an engineering design challenge. They learn about simple machines, create a presentation on Newton's laws, and develop a balloon-powered car.
Kenan Fellows
Gridiron Rescue: One Health Football Technology Project
Helmets not included! Scholars brainstorm adjustments and sensors to football helmets in an engineering design project to help prevent injuries, such as concussions and spinal injuries.
Teach Engineering
Earthquakes Living Lab: Finding Epicenters and Measuring Magnitudes
Pairs use an online simulation to determine the epicenter and magnitude of an earthquake. Using real data about the earthquake's maximum S wave amplitudes, they then determine the magnitude. The resource provides a great career...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Can You Canoe?
A neat handout immerses learners in the history of canoe making. After reading, small groups of mini engineers work to craft a canoe that will not be immersed! This is an ideal exercise in engineering design for your STEM curriculum or...
DiscoverE
Working with Watermills
Water is a powerful force; harness it through watermills. The task at hand is to create a simple watermill that functions in flowing water for at least three minutes. Scholars work together in teams to design and construct such a...
Teach Engineering
Incoming Asteroid! What's the Problem?
Oh, no! An asteroid is on a collision course with Earth!. Class members must rise to the challenge of designing a shelter that will protect people from the impact and permit them to live in this shelter for one year. In this first lesson...
Tech Museum of Innovation
Analogous Models
What goes into a museum display? A secondary-level STEM project prompts groups to design a museum display for the Tech Museum of Innovation. They create an analogous, interactive model illustrating a science concept to complete the lesson.
DiscoverE
Build a Big Wheel
Pasta is great for cooking—and for making Ferris wheels. Aspiring engineers use an assortment of pasta types to create a functioning Ferris wheel. They keep track of the design process to refine their designs, if necessary. Let's hope no...
NPR
Define the Plastic Problem
Individuals identify a specific problem concerning plastics and write a problem statement, which describes the problem, explains why it's a problem, and identifies desired solutions.
NASA
Feel the Heat
Heat water up like a NASA engineer. Using the engineering design process, investigators create a system to trap and move heat through a water-filled tube. Designers participate in a post-activity discussion that highlights the role of...
Teach Engineering
Live Like an Animal
When your parents say that your room's a pig sty, tell them about biomimicry. The sixth installment of a nine-part Life Science unit has scholars research the shelters used by animals in the natural world, like turtle shells. Using the...
NASA
Feel the Heat
Pupils examine how solar energy can supply power and heat on the lunar surface. As groups design and build a solar-powered water heating system, they test their system to determine the change in temperature of the water and redesign it...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Adaptive Device Design
After reading about how engineering has made adaptive devices possible for people with disabilities, pupils work in groups to discuss different devices to determine whether or not they are adaptive. They also disassemble a pair of...