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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Types of Forces

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Students study scientific names and descriptions of forces.  In this motion instructional activity students organize information into a graphic organizer then teach it to other students. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Freestanding Structures: A Tech Museum Floor Activity

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Learners attempt to design the tallest structure that they can with the given materials which are wooden dowels and rubber bands. They discuss the physics of their structure and how they would improve it the next time they built a...
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Activity
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Teach Engineering

Stop the Stretching

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Stretch your teaching repertoire with an experiment on the elongation (stretching) and failure (break) of several materials. The point of the experiment is to design a composite material for chair webbing.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Strong as the Weakest Link

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students discover the types of stress that materials undergo. They examine how bridges and skyscrapers are built to withhold the tension. They create their own structure out of marshmallows and spaghetti.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Activity: Leaning Tower of Pasta

For Teachers 6th - 8th
A well-laid-out lesson plan, this can be used in an engineering, STEM, or physical science course. Laboratory groups design a structure using pasta and marshmallows, measure its height and weight, and then discover the load that it can...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

TE Activity: Testing Fundamental Loads

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students experiment with the five fundamental load types that can act on structures. They use foam insulation blocks to which they apply the forces and draw the fracture patterns. They determine the telltale marks of failure that is...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Forces on the Human Molecule

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers conduct several simple lab activities to explore the five fundamental load types that can act on structures: tension, compression, shear, bending, and torsion. In this activity, students play the role of molecules in a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Leaning Tower of Pasta

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students experiment with different structures to determine which ones are able to handle the greatest amount of load using spaghetti and marshmallows. They discuss how engineers design buildings, construct their buildings and complete a...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lab for Truss Design and Testing

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students design and build their own truss. In this physics lesson, students calculate the forces and maximum load. They complete a full scale diagram of their design.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Be a Structural Engineer!

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students investigate how to design and build items with a focus on structural strength as an engineer would. They complete a truss-building project as a final assessment.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Structural Geology Laboratory

For Teachers K - 12th
Learners explore modeling of geologic structures in experiments. They study how compressive and tensile forces produce these structures. The compression makes the flatlying strata shorter and tension make the strata longer.
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Lesson Plan
Science Matters

Fault Formations

For Teachers 6th Standards
The San Andreas Fault moves about two inches a year, approximately the same rate fingernails grow—crazy! The third lesson in the series allows for hands-on exploration of various fault formations. Through the use of a Popsicle stick,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Build and Test a Paper Bridge

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students investigate making strong structures from paper. In this paper bridge lesson, students experiment making bridges out of paper. Students fold paper many different ways to test its strength. Students discuss what they tried and...
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Lesson Plan
Cornell University

Bridge Building

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Bridge the gaps in your knowledge of bridges. Individuals learn about bridge types by building models. The activity introduces beam bridges, arch bridges, truss bridges, and suspension bridges.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rover Landing Design Challenge

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students examine the concepts of forces and motion. They work together to design protective devices for their egg rovers as they are dropped from a specific height. They record their observations and discuss.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Shapes That Make Structures Strong

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students study the various shapes engineers choose to make structures strong -- in particular, triangles, arches, and domes. They construct a variety of forms, and discuss how tension and compression are distributed by triangles,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Wind Effects on Model Building: Building Project Overview

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students design their own building according to certain criteria. In this semester long physics lesson plan, students calculate forces, compression and tension. They present their finished model in class.
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Activity
James Dyson Foundation

Challenge Cards

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Can you build it? Yes you can! This interactive game includes four design challenges presented on separate cards. The cards outline the challenges with limited restrictions but with an end goal in mind. The competitions include building...
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Activity
DiscoverE

Build a Straw Bridge

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Build teamwork skills while building a bridge. Scholars work together in groups to create a bridge out of 20 straws and tape. There is a minimum span length of 25 centimeters, but otherwise, let creativity run wild.
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Activity
Teach Engineering

Straw Bridges

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Pairs work as engineering teams to design and build model bridges from drinking straws and tape. In this third segment in a series of 10, teams compete in an attempt to build the strongest bridge. To help with the design, the groups...
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Lesson Plan
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Teach Engineering

Investigating Torque

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Torque--a teachable moment? Here's a lesson on torque (or moment) and variables that include size, reinforcement, structural bracing, and material that affect torque.
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Activity
DiscoverE

Bridges, Buildings and Beyond Activity Packet: Grades 6-8

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Pour a solid foundation of engineering into the minds of future engineers. Scholars take part in three activities to learn about civil engineering. They build a model of a cable-stayed bridge, conduct an experiment to see the effects of...
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Activity
Teach Engineering

Trust in the Truss: Design a Wooden Bridge

For Teachers 10th - 12th Standards
Obviously, a sturdy bridge is the desired outcome. Pupils select from one of four different types of truss bridges, then construct a model of the bridge from craft sticks and glue, making sure that it satisfies certain constraints. They...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Shapes that Make Structures Strong

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students construct a variety of forms, test their strength, and discuss how tension and compression are distributed by triangles, arches, and domes.

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