Curated OER
Motion Commotion!
Young scholars explore the drawings of Rube Goldberg to design and construct a simple machine. They discuss simple machines, and using various materials and toy parts, design and construct a "Rube Goldberg" style machine to ring a bell.
Teach Engineering
Doing the Math: Analysis of Forces in a Truss Bridge
Join together to investigate truss joints. Scholars learn how to analyze forces at truss joints to determine the strength of truss bridges. They apply the "method of joints" in calculating the tension and compression forces at each joint...
Curated OER
Levers and Wedges in the Human Body
Young biologists identify parts of the body that serve as wedges (teeth and fingernails), and as levers (jaw, arms, and legs). The hands-on activities described here should be exciting for learners to perform, and should also lead to a...
Curated OER
Fracture Fundamentals: A Cheesy Analog
Students make small cuts (fracture nuclei) in processed cheese food and then apply stresses perpendicular or parallel to the cuts to see how fractures grow. They make predictions before each experiment and explain their results to the...
Curated OER
Can You Bear It? Pulleys, Gears, Forces, Structures and Mechanisms
Students review the types of simple machines. As a class, they focus on the positives and negatives of pulleys and gears and identify what pulleys and gears change of an object. They work together to design their own object to support a...
Curated OER
Pet Rescue
Students, in teams, follow the process of design, including the stages of investigation, creation, and reflection, as they devise a way to help "save" a (simulated) pet who is trapped in a pipe.
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...
PBS
Robo Arm
Future engineers create robotic arms like those on rovers built by NASA in the second lesson of the series. They test their devices by attempting to pick up and move cups to a specified location.
Curated OER
Design Challenge: Cup in the Cupboard
Learners design device that will place a cup into a cupboard for a physically challenged person. They study the engineering design and how structure relates to function.
Curated OER
One, Two, Three--Isaac Newton and Me
Students experiment to develop understanding of Newton's Laws and how they apply to space travel in this ten day lesson sequence.
Curated OER
Surface Friction and Wear Characteristics of Common Materials
Students identify the factors affecting friction. In this physics lesson, students construct their own rocket car and race them. They graph the average speeds and discuss how lubricants affect friction between rubbing surfaces.
Curated OER
Hip Replacement
Students take a close examine animals' skeletons to see how their pelvis and femur work together for movement. By investigating their skeletons students discover the placement and functions of our own bodies. They use owl pellets in this...
Curated OER
Indoor Air Quality
Pupils examine the role of pollution indoors rather than outdoors. They identify pollutant sources and complete a KWL chart. They also measure pollutant levels and discuss how they can improve air quality.