Students engage in an interactive "hot potato" demonstration to gain an appreciation for the flow of electrons through a circuit. They role play the different parts of a simple circuit and send small items representing electrons (paper...

Students examine how climate affects lifestyle, clothing choices, food, and water sources. They explore climatic regions such as tropical, desert, coastal, and alpine situations. They look at the longitude and latitude, land features and...

Students study the causes of different types and speeds of landslides. They determine that landslides are the result of gravity, friction, and the materials involved. They examine the step engineers are taking to prevent and avoid...

Students conduct Internet research on a selected city or country in Europe. They launch a search engine, explore various websites, write down basic facts about their country on a worksheet, and create a travel brochure.

Ask your students to explain how to successfully find information on the Internet, focusing on how to select the keywords that lead to the best information on a topic and by navigating and evaluating a number of Internet search engines....

Students discover the fundamentals and daily applications of simple machines. They practice basic engineering theory through their hands-on demonstrations of levers.

Students determine what an anemometer is and how it measures wind speed. They decide on a place to put a wind turbine by using an anemometer. They examine the role that engineers play when using wind speed to determine a place for wind...

Students explore the variety of ways to use solar energy. They investigate the thermal energy storage capacities of different test materials to determine which to use in passive solar building design. They explain how passive solar...

Learners apply the principles and concepts associated with energy and the transfer of energy in an engineering context through the designing and making of a musical instrument. After the accomplishment of the design, students must...

Students form expert engineering teams working for the (fictional) alternative energy consulting firm, Greenewables, Inc. Each team specializes in a form of renewable energy used to generate electrical power: passive solar, solar...

Students examine how a bill becomes a law in the US Congress. They investigate legislation about global warming. They determine the role of engineers as they educate Congress, the public and other government institutions about global...

Students examine the causes of tsunamis and observe a table top wave making machine. They make model houses while working in groups so that the can see how different construction types work. They discuss how engineers can design and...

Students collect and categorize solid waste produced in the classroom. They weigh the waste that has been collected over one week's time, and separate it into recyclable and non-recyclable waste. They talk about the role of engineers in...

Students analyze how engineers study temperature inversions and convection currents to understand why pollution levels may be higher in some areas than others. They participate in an experiment that allows them to build simple models to...

Students observe a model of a waterwheel to investigate the transformations of energy involved in turning the blades of a hydro-turbine into work. They work as engineers to create a model for a new waterwheel while considering resources,...

Young scholars create a collage of wood products labeled by type of wood product.  In this product engineering lesson, students work in groups to find pictures of solid wood products, engineered wood products, wood pulp, paper...

Students examine the effects of packaging decisions and the engineering advancements in packaging materials and waste management. They observe biodegradation in a model landfill.

Students define and examine the connections between sound and music and how engineers design instruments. They listen to examples of musical instruments, view a demonstration of a tuning fork and bottles filled with varying amounts of...

Middle schoolers investigate horsepower as a unit of power. They examine history and discover that scientists and engineers of high achievement are considered to be among the most valued contributors to their culture.

Students create their own model of a nail clipper. They practice using engineering design and model building. They also identify different kinds of small levers.

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...

Students investigate and explore the three states of matter. They read and discuss the NASA article "The Engine That Does More," identify examples of each state of matter, and as a class complete a section of two worksheets. They...