Teach Engineering
Above-Ground Storage Tanks in the Houston Ship Channel
Introduce your class to storage tank failures caused by major storms with an activity that looks at how the concepts of Archimedes' Principle and Pascal's Law affect the storage tanks along the Houston Ship Channel. The background...
DiscoverE
Marble Run
It's time to slow your roll! Can your class create a track that allows a marble to roll as slowly as possible? Teams of science scholars collaborate to design, build, and test their tubes while learning about gravity and friction.
Purdue University
The Represented World: Recreational STEM
How are forces and motion important to a swing set? Scholars explore the concepts of force and motion using swing sets. In preparation for their own STEM design project, individuals take surveys and data from peers, complete labs on...
Teach Engineering
Earthquakes Living Lab: Locating Earthquakes
There are patterns in nearly everything — even earthquakes. Pairs research current earthquakes to see if there are any patterns. They determine the mean, median, and mode of the earthquake data, along with the maximum and...
Discovery Education
Future Fleet
Turn your pupils into engineers who are able to use scientific principals to design a ship. This long-term project expects pupils to understand concepts of density, buoyancy, displacement, and metacenter, and apply them to constructing a...
NOAA
Invent a Robot!
Wait til your class gets their hands on this! Aspiring engineers design a working robotic arm in the fifth and final installment in a series of ocean exploration lessons. Pupils learn about the use of underwater robots in ocean...
DiscoverE
Pipe Maze
Here's a lesson that is simply a-MAZE-ing! Introduce science scholars to pipeline systems through a hands-on project. Partnered pupils participate in the design, construct, and test a PVC pipeline maze. Reusable materials and clear...
DiscoverE
Nanomedicine
Cancer patients need as much help as they can get. Future engineers design a system that delivers cancer medicine to the lungs but doesn't harm other organs. Using ferrofluids and iron particles, they test out their delivery systems.
DiscoverE
Clean It Up
Water, water, everywhere, but not a drop to drink—until we clean it, of course! Scholars design a filtration device that removes pollutants from water. The goal is to have the water come out as clean as possible from the device. How...
DiscoverE
Product Dissection
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...
DiscoverE
Build a Straw Bridge
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.
Missouri University of science & Technology
General Overview History of the Panama Canal
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...
Curated OER
Erosion... Can You Fight It?
Students study erosion and its effects on shorelines. In this erosion lesson, students work in an engineering team to design a seawall and submit a cost bid to their teacher. Students must determine the energy of a wave and design a wall...
DiscoverE
Strong Paper Structure
Paper is a lot stronger than you think. Scholars create newspaper structures that can hold the weight of several books. For the purpose of this activity, the designs must be eight inches tall to be considered complete.
Curated OER
Inventions in Everyday Life
Students identify and solve problems as they modify the design of an everyday household item. They gather and analyze information and work in collaborative teams to create a design plan for a new product.
DiscoverE
Shaky Ground
You're on solid ground if you decide to use the resource. A simple activity has young engineers investigate the problem of liquefaction. A battery placed on dry sand will stay standing—but not if scholars add water to the cup.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Tracking Genetically Modified Mosquitoes
What's that buzzing in your ear? An insightful lesson about genetically modified mosquitoes! Partnered pupils explore the creation, release, and monitoring of mosquitoes designed to reduce the mosquito population. After watching a video,...
Curated OER
Grand Designs And Great Failures
Students extend their understanding of floating, sinking, density, and buoyancy and apply it to the design and testing of ships. students discover that most ships are constructed very similarly-whether they are schooners or destroyers.
University of Southern Indiana
Manifest Density
There's a lot content packed into the four lessons of this physical science unit on density. From salad dressing to the water cycle and hot air balloons, these lessons engage students in hands-on activities that explore real-world...
NASA
Rocket Wind Tunnel
Using a teacher-built wind tunnel constructed from a paper concrete tube form, a fan, and a balance, individuals determine the amount of drag their rocket design will experience in flight. Pupils make modifications to increase the...
DiscoverE
Sorting Solutions
It's okay to play with your food—just this once! Scholars design and create meshes and chutes to sort pasta by size and shape. They test their designs and make improvements as necessary.
NASA
Pop! Rockets
Off they go — launching rockets is fun. The lesson plan contains templates to build paper rockets that can be launched from a PVC pipe launcher. Individuals or groups build the rockets and determine the shapes for their fins. Included...
Teach Engineering
Fluid Power Basics
What can bulldozers and screen doors have in common? Use this lesson plan on fluid power to find out. It begins with some simple teacher demonstrations, includes a couple of videos, and culminates with an inquiry-based activity to...
Mojang
Minecraft – Pocket Edition
You don't have to be a Minecraft wiz to know that this app has great playability for your learners! As afterschool programs and classroom projects around the world demonstrate, this game goes well beyond placing blocks and traditional...