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...

Three, two, one, blast off to a better understanding of force and motion with this exciting science lesson plan! Beginning with a discussion about rockets and gravity, young scientists go on to complete a series of worksheets...

During the Winter Olympics, this would be an engaging task to include in your STEM lesson. Design teams plan, construct, and test a miniature ski lift that can carry a pingpong ball up and down a rope line without falling out. With this...

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...

Can our energy resources keep up with our ever-growing population? Science scholars learn the basics of energy and Earth's energy resources during an electrifying lesson. The resource combines video clips and an engineering design...

The design challenge: develop a method to separate steel from aluminum. The first lesson plan in an eight-part series introduces the class to the grand challenge of ciming up with a method to streamline a sorting process at a...

Show your class how engineers use graphs to understand large and complex systems. The resource provides the beginnings of graph theory by introducing the class to set theory, graphs, and degree distributions of a graph. 

In a simple but unique lesson, youngsters learn about the history of voting systems. They then collaborate in groups to develop a new honest and consistent voting method. A class-wide poll is taken, evaluating the designs of other...

Knowing the basics of drafting allows individuals to create drawings that show all the views and measurements necessary to allow others to visualize the original object. Pupils gain experience by drawing three orthographic views of...

What will it take to explore space? Teams of pupils determine the needs of a lunar outpost and research the required systems. The pupils then learn about the past space exploration vehicles. The third and final lesson challenges project...

Do not let the class just sit and rot. Pupils learn how decomposition and nutrient recycling is important to an ecosystem. Groups design an experiment to determine how environmental conditions affect decomposition. They develop a poster...

Is your building a smart building? Pupils learn what makes a building smart and about the internet of things. After viewing several videos on the topic, they conduct an activity collecting data from sensors and brainstorm ways to improve...

Elasticity and viscosity. Help your class understand the similarities and differences with an introduction to viscous fluids. After describing four types of fluid behaviors: shear thinning, shear thickening, Bringham plastic,...

What are the issues surrounding water quality? Viewers of this short presentation gain information about the importance of clean water, the lack of fresh water, water contamination, and ways that engineers treat water. 

A Rube Goldberg machine does not really look like it would make work easier. Introduce your class to Rube Goldberg with a resource that shows how his inventions make simple tasks harder to complete. 

If you think you can do better, feel free to give it a try. Pupils learn about the work on Temple Grandin and consider ways to improve animal handling facilities. They work in groups to build models to showcase their ideas.

Take two pills and call me in the morning. The first lesson in a short unit of four introduces class members to delivery methods of medicines. The instruction introduces the question of which delivery method is best to get you feeling...

Compound machines, nothing more than a combination of simple machines working together, are the focus of an activity that asks class members to use the provided information to take a look at the way innovators combine simple machines to...

Blow the minds of young scientists with this collection of inquiry-based investigations. Based on a series of eight videos, these "hands-on, minds-on" science lessons engage young learners in exploring a wide range of topics...

Introduce your class to the idea of magnetic fields around electrical wires with an activity that provides the information about the direction of a magnetic field around a wire carrying an electric current.

Whatever floats your boat. Young engineers learn about density by measuring the masses and volumes of boxes filled with different materials. Using their knowledge of densities, they hypothesize whether objects with given densities will...

Climb up the staircase of engineering knowledge. After watching a video of a carpenter measuring out steps for a set of stairs, pupils learn about the terminology and regulations involving stairs. They see how to use a rule of thumb when...

"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough" - Albert Einstein. The sixth installment of a seven-part series teaches young scientists about the importance of being able to communicate scientific research and...

Don't drop the ball on the resource ... drop an egg instead! A teacher-led demonstration has the class consider how to drop eggs into glasses when a tray is in the way. Hint: If you've ever seen a magician pull a tablecloth off a table,...