Construction leads to habitat loss and local wildlife suffers. Scholars must build a reptile egg incubation device that meets many constraints. Various experiments help them discover the chemical reaction needed to reach...

Clothes might not make the man but they certainly do help an actor create a character. How costume designers employ the same elements of design found in sets (line, color, texture, shape) to realize a character is the focus of a lesson...

The set for a play combines design elements (style, line, shape, mass, measure, position, color, and texture) and principles of composition (unity, harmony, contrast, variation, balance, proportion, and emphasis) to create a particular...

Make your work as a teacher a little easier with a physical science project on simple machines. After introducing young scientists to these devices and identifying their different uses around the school, this project engages...

Take your class on an out-of-this-world adventure with this fun engineering design lesson. Working in small groups, young scientists design, build, and test crew exploration vehicles using some creativity, teamwork, and...

The task of creating a set for a theater production may leave theater arts students asking where to begin. Set their minds at ease with a packet that not only provides information about the elements of design, but also guides them...

Introduces your class to the types of loads experienced by a bridge. Groups calculate the ultimate load combinations to determine the maximum load requirement. Using this information, builders then determine the amount of material...

What's the difference between set dressing and a prop? Between a costume accessory and a personal prop? As part of their study of set and prop design, class members engage in a series of activities that prepare them to design a prop for...

Step by step is always best. In groups, future engineers create the tallest possible tower with marshmallows and spaghetti sticks. Along the way, they learn about the engineering design process. 

Line, shape, color, texture, space. The first in a three-part series of lessons intended for advanced theatre arts classes introduces the elements of set design. Class members examine maquettes and analyze how designers have put together...

Make a splash from space. Participants use the engineering design process to create a waterproof space exploration vehicle capable of an upright landing. Young engineers test and modify designs as needed and participate in a group...

How can Adobe Creative Cloud enhance digital art and media design? Readers explore just that with the Digital Foundations eBook. They learn how to source images and how to create symmetry and asymmetry in their digital designs. They also...

Putting together information gained from their script analysis, their readings, and their research, groups create a conceptual design statement for their assigned scene. The statement explains how their scenic design creates the mood and...

There's an app for that! Pupils learn to build an app that will store data on an Android. The lesson introduces class members to the tiny database, TinyDB, for Android devices. A video tutorial provides an example that uses the...

Here is a tasty challenge, especially for middle school engineers: design a container that meets mass and volume criteria, and will safely transport a tortilla or potato chip through the mail without damaging it! Mostly, this is a crisp...

Young artists don't need to be skateboarders to enjoy this assignment. Class members use the provided worksheet to craft 10 sketches that convey action or motion using no more than seven lines. They then select their three best ideas and...

Don't be a drag. Learners work in groups to design boats that move slowly. The provided reason for the activity is that a fish caught on a fishing reel is pulling the boat, causing it to move too fast. The STEM activity teaches the class...

Experimentally, come up with a study design. Learners hear about different types of study designs, observational studies, and experiments. They identify the subjects, response variable, treatment, and whether there was a cause and...

Those corn husks can be put to good use. Future engineers design and build a new, biodegradable bag for potato chips out of corn husks. They test out their bags by shaking, dropping, and tossing them, as well as placing them in water.

Be on the right side of history. Scholars first learn about polio and the meetings of the 1954 Salk polio vaccine study. In groups, they select roles, such as parents, government officials, and statisticians, and decide on the best...

Do some good for the community while learning about engineering. Groups complete a service-based engineering design project over the course of five weeks. The resource provides guidance on how to conduct the project and help pupils get...

How does dirty water get clean enough to drink? After viewing a PowerPoint that outlines the process water goes through at a water treatment plant, groups work together to design a chlorination chamber for a treatment plant.

Challenge young learners to cut the clutter with this fun engineering project. As employees of a home and office supply company, young engineers are asked to develop devices that organize everyday items. After participating in a...

As part of a study of how visual metaphors are used in set design, class members examine an image of designer Josef Svoboda's 3-D scale model for the opera Idomeneo, re` di Creta. They then find another example that employs a visual...