Let your creativity run wild. Scholars build a sculpture out of basic materials. These sculptures must be able to move in the wind (from an electric fan). However, they must also withstand the wind enough to not fall over—it's quite the...

Sometimes, taking things apart is more fun than putting things together. Groups of learners participate in a reverse engineering activity. They dissect a device of their choosing to see how it works—great hands-on learning from the...

Orange you glad you can make circuits using fruit? Young electricians learn about electric circuits and electricity. As part of the lesson, they build a circuit with an orange and then with a banana.

Whose home is it anyway? Design teams plan a housing development in which they must also protect a native species. The teams consist of a project manager, civil engineer, environmental engineer, and graphic designer. Teams present their...

How temperature affects the efficiency of a solar panel is the focus of the third in a series of eight resources that presents how engineers are able to control the temperatures of photovoltaic panels. Class members find out how the...

Called the Eight Wonder of the World by some and the Big Ditch by others, the Panama Canal is indeed an engineering marvel. The long, complicated, and sometimes controversial history of the canal is captured in a presentation loaded with...

Let's go fishing ... for paper clips! Individuals create a device that attracts paper clips. This device relies on an electromagnetism, where a flow of electricity in a loop of wire wrapped around a nail causes magnetism.

Follow the light—not with one's eyes—but with a special solar tracker. Future engineers design and build a device that tracks light. They must build circuits in which solar cells rotate to receive equal amounts of light.

Things can always be made better. The culminating installment in the seven-part Understanding Science and Engineering unit has pupils design their own water pumps. In groups, they build a prototype of a design of their choice, then test...

Future mechanical engineers and automotive technicians read about various solutions to using gasoline in cars. Included are electric, fuel-cell-powered, and hybrid vehicles.

Following this procedure, eager engineers construct a working model of a piston system, similar to that in an internal combustion engine. Perfect for STEM or automotive technology classes, the activity comes complete with analysis and...

In collaborative groups, emerging engineers or environmental scientists plan and construct a water wheel or watermill that rotates for a total of three minutes. Everything you need to carry out this instructional activity is included:...

In this worksheet, learners use Algebra to plot different solutions to equations and analyze schematics in order to answer a series of 25 open-ended questions about electrical circuits. This worksheet is printable and the answers are...

Discover the power of wind energy. Learners design, build, and test wind blades in a hands-on experiment. They analyze the results to determine if they can make any improvements before gathering as a class to discuss their designs.

Generate a buzz about circuits. Scholars conduct four activities to learn about electric circuits. They create dance pads that buzz and flash when stepped on, build hidden alarms, design creatures with eyes that flash, and take part in...

Solar energy is an amazing alternative ... but, not always particularly portable! Challenge young scientists to a folding solar panel build-off with an easy-to-execute activity. Scholars brainstorm around specific design needs, construct...

Given four suggested concepts, emerging electrical engineers research, design, and constuct a working device that willrespond to changes in the intesnisty or the direction of sunlight. This is a challenge for learners to rise to, as the...

Teams of electrical engineers work together to develop plans for increasing electricity to a fictitious, but growing community. They consider different sources of electricity, both renewable and nonrenewable, the cost of building and...

Students explain how electricity is transferred from source to load without actual wires connecting the two. In this physics lesson, students explore how wireless electricity was discovered. They cite practical applications of this...

Students light a LED clock or light bulb using potatoes. They examine how a battery works in a simple circuit. They determine how chemical energy changes to electrical energy while experimenting with potato powered circuits.

Students gain an understanding of the difference between electrical conductors and insulators, and experience recognizing a conductor by its material properties. They build a conductivity tester to determine whether different objects are...

Sixth graders build a speaker as they investigate the roles of electricity and magnetism. They discover the properties of magnets, create an electromagnet, and determine the direction of a magnetic field. They show cause and effect...

Students use a battery, wires, small light bulb and a light bulb holder to learn the difference between an open circuit and a closed circuit, and understand that electric current only occurs in a closed circuit. They describe the...

Have your class use compasses to try to find the magnetic field around an electric current. Groups use the same technique to visualize magnetic fields as they did in the second activity in the series, but this time, the field is...