After reading about the history of tape dispensers, learners compare and contrast different dispenser designs. Next, teams work within budgetary and time constraints to design a better dispenser. When finished, each engineer reflects on...

Levitation tricks have been documented from the early 1900s, so how do they do it? Scholars learn about the force of magnetism in an attractive resource. They watch videos and design experiments to understand the strength and...

Groups work together to design a lighthouse, from designing and drawing the wiring diagram, to creating prototypes of the switch and circuit, to envisioning and building a scale model along with a blueprint. By including different...

Twelfth graders examine the physics of rocket flight. They build and launch model rockets to measure their performances.

Students use common materials to build a car. In this car building mechanical engineering lesson, students build a car using a milk cartoon and plastic wheels. They discuss what mechanical engineers do and what makes a car run.

Students participate in activities simulating various disabilities. After discussions, they work in teams to devise or improve on adaptive devices for people with disabilities. They include drawings of the tools they design and explain...

Extracting oil is more difficult than many think! Learners work together and get hands-on as they represent oil companies drilling for oil by simulating oil extraction using beans. They identify the challenges faced in using...

Make fast food restaurants even faster. Groups consider trade-offs when maximizing efficiency in fast food restaurants. Restructuring schedules and floor plans, as well reassigning job duties, all fall under this directive.  

Don't desert a resource on the desert! Scholars work in groups to build on their ideas from the previous lesson to design a sustainable guest village in the Saguaro National Park. Each group produces a PowerPoint presentation to share...

Investigate desert biomes by creating food chains and food webs. Groups first research feeding habits of organisms in the Sonoran Desert. This information helps pupils draw food chains and webs to determine relationship between organisms.

Investigate the relationship between height and arm span. Young statisticians measure the heights and arm spans of each class member and create a scatter plot using the data. They draw a line of best fit and use its slope to explain the...

Students design a flower-pot and saucer. In this math instructional activity, students incorporate the use of technology to correctly build and shape a flower pot. They calculate the necessary mass of the red clay used to make...

Learners design a boat model with simplified steam engine. In this ecology lesson, students compare renewable and nonrenewable energy sources. They determine the efficiency of their boat model.

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...

Weathering is not necessarily a result of the weather. Scholars conduct an experiment to explore the effect of surface area and volume on the weathering process. They create their own sugar cube rocks using the same number of cubes—but...

Seventh graders conduct an investigation into the design of bridges and their construction. Students design bridges and draw detailed plans. For assessment they construct a model of a bridge that is made entirely of toothpicks. Students...

Students analyze how medical devices that help the human body function. They work in pairs or groups to draw multiple views of the medical device and describe how engineering is used by biomedial engineers.

No wonder the ship was called the Titanic. An investigation of Norse, Roman, and Greek Mythology provides insight into mythological characters and corresponding words in the English language. A close look at roots, prefixes, and suffixes...

Students study volcanoes using a chemical engineering project. In this volcanoes instructional activity, students create a model town and discuss the properties of a volcano. Students then make a volcano using a chemical engineering...

Students investigate the properties of two and three dimensional objects. In this geometry lesson, students differentiate polygons based on similarity and congruence. They make observation and interpret the data.

Students discuss potential and kinetic energy and design roller coasters to study this concept. In this energy instructional activity, students discuss the potential and kinetic energy of a roller coaster. Students design roller coasters...

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...

Stability is key when building a bridge. Scholars explore the forces acting upon bridges through an analysis of Newton's Laws and Hooke's Law. The activity asks individuals to apply their learning by building a bridge of their own.

Students study black history, examine portraits and portrait making and create their own portraits, and  investigate their natural environment. This humanities lesson provides a text that can be used to teach lessons in black...