Curated OER
Physics E3 Project Instructional Plan
Eleventh graders design and build their own solar cars. For this physics lesson, 11th graders explain the photoelectric effect. They discuss the pros and cons of using solar power as an energy source.
Discovery Education
Make it all Better!
Discover how innovations can help your school and community. In the three-part STEM lesson, scholars learn the meaning of innovation and brainstorm innovations in their schools. They identify issues in their communities and think of...
Curated OER
TE Activity: Heavy Helicopters
Students study the concepts of weight and drag while making paper helicopters. They measure how adding more weight to the helicopter changes the time for the helicopter to fall to the ground. They apply what they examine to the work of...
Curated OER
What's Down the Well?
Middle schoolers examine how environmental engineers determine possible sites for drinking water wells. They listen to a teacher led-lecture, and create their own groundwater well model using a coffee can and wire screening, observing...
TryEngineering
Give Binary a Try!
Learners apply binary code in software applications for computer engineers. In this binary code lesson, students read about binary code and its applications to computer engineers. They download software and read an online binary clock....
Curated OER
Cell Wall Recipe: A Lesson on Biofuels
Biotech engineers discover that changes in the DNA code for cell wall formation can help create crops better suited for biofuel production. They extract DNA from wheat germ. They decode paper strips with codes and relate the activity to...
Curated OER
Stack It Up!
Students analyze and begin to design a pyramid. Working in engineering teams, they perform calculations to determine the area of the pyramid base, stone block volumes, and the number of blocks required for their pyramid base. They make a...
Curated OER
Solar Kit Lesson #14 - Solar Cells as Control Devices
Given four suggested concepts, emerging electrical engineers research, design, and constuct a working device that willrespond to changes in the intesnisty or the direction of sunlight. This is a challenge for learners to rise to, as the...
Curated OER
Riding the Gravity Wave
Students write a sketch of an artist or athlete that has pushed the limits on gravity. They explore concepts of rhythm, balance and friction. They examine how engineers design sports equipment.
Curated OER
Let's Make a Solar Car
Students transform a car that they have built out of K'NEX into a solar car. Students add one or two solar cells to the car to power a DC motor then connect the motor to the car and come up with a method to drive the car. This is the...
Curated OER
Learn to Build a Rocket in 5 Days
Young scholars explore physics by participating in an engineering activity. For this rocket lesson, students define a list of scientific vocabulary terms such as "re-engineering" and "trade-off." Young scholars identify the rocket...
Curated OER
Laser
Eleventh graders explore the different steps in the engineering process. In this physics lesson, 11th graders design an experiment based on topic given. They prepare a presentation and share it with the class.
Curated OER
Building a Better Mousetrap
Eighth graders are introduced to the "Design Process" for technological development by constructing a prototype of a humane mousetrap. Students must record the steps their design groups go through while designing their prototypes and...
Curated OER
Mini-Squares of Life
Students brainstorm to decide the best way to mark off square areas (that they will later study) that are smaller than one meter. They compare the suitability of different designs and create "mini-square markers." Finally, they test...
Curated OER
A House is a House for Me
Students evaluate the impact climates have on the building of structures. They research the different types of materials used to build houses in various climates and build small models of houses which are tested against different climates.
Cornell University
Beam Focusing Using Lenses
Explore optics using an inquiry-based experimental approach! Young scholars use a set of materials to design and build a unit capable of focusing a beam of light. They experiment with different lenses to determine the best approach to...
Curated OER
Mini-Landslide
Students explore how different materials (sand, gravel, lava rock) with different water contents on different slopes result in landslides of different severity. They measure the severity by how far the landslide debris extends into model...
Curated OER
Population Growth in Yeasts
Students design an investigation using yeast. In this environmental engineering lesson, students design an investigation to determine how environmental factors affect the growth of yeast. They will collect quantitative data and discuss...
Curated OER
An Arm and A Leg
Middle schoolers examine how the movements of bones are dependent on the interaction of pairs of muscles. They design and construct a prototype of an artificial limb using a syringe system, and determine whether water or air makes the...
Curated OER
Moebius Strips
Students make Moebius strips and use them to demonstrate the interconnectedness of an environment. They explore the natural cycles (water, oxygen/carbon dioxide, carbon, nitrogen) within the environment. They describe how the cycles are...
Curated OER
Blood Cell Basics
Students design a proportional model of blood out of red gelatin, a plastic bag, and rice. They study the components that make up blood and investigate what happens when the arteries in different scenerios. They work in pairs in order to...
Curated OER
Towers
Sixth graders study the different methods to build a shake table. In this earthquake lesson students build their own shake table and experiment with their own structure design.
Curated OER
The Crash Scene
Fifth graders explore geography by participating in a mapping activity. In this engineering instructional activity, 5th graders identify the differences between latitude and longitude and practice locating precise points on a globe or...
Curated OER
Electrical Engineers for a Day
Students build a robot out of a 3-¿¿ inch floppy disk drive, two floppy disks, and some other miscellaneous supplies. They apply information they gather about electrical circuits from a web-based circuit design program.