Teach Engineering
Model Heart Valves
Small groups use the knowledge learned about the heart to design and build a prototype of an artificial heart valve. The teams demonstrate the functionality of their valve. They are also responsible for creating a pamphlet that describes...
Serendip
Genetic Engineering Challenge – How Can Scientists Develop a Type of Rice That Could Prevent Vitamin A Deficiency?
Brown rice contains vitamins B and E, while white rice lasts longer in storage. The availability of rice around the world makes it a great candidate for genetic engineering. Scholars apply their knowledge of genetic engineering to solve...
PBS
Helping Hand
Reach out and grab something. Given the task of picking up objects at least two feet away, pupils design and build a grabber. The last activity in a series of five challenges requires learners to use information about fulcrums and levers.
DiscoverE
Textbook Support Challenge
Textbooks are heavier than a sheet of paper, so how can paper hold up a textbook? Young engineers create a structure out of paper that can support a textbook. To add another wrinkle, they must stay within budget and time constraints.
Teach Engineering
The Magician's Catapult
Class members work in pairs to build a catapult to launch a grape a given distance. The catapult project, a compound machine, reinforces pupils' understanding of simple machines.
NASA
On Target
Crash into engineering by sending a marble to land on a target by way of a zip line. Using a zip line, pupils put engineering design processes into practice by modifying a cup to carry and release a marble onto a target. Scientists test,...
Museum of Science
Paddle Boat
Harness the power of rubber bands of all things. A hands-on activity has scholars design and build paddle boats. They learn how the elastic potential energy of rubber bands can be converted to the kinetic energy associated with motion.
Curated OER
The BEAM Project: Building Efficient Architectural Models
Technology or engineering teams are given a task to design, construct, and test the efficiency of a structure that will foster an even temperature throughout an entire sunny day. Intended as a long-term project, pupils research, plan,...
Teach Engineering
Thinking Green!
Encourage your class to solve local environmental issues. Groups brainstorm environmental issues that are affecting the community, choose one they want to solve, and design a product or service to solve their chosen issue. They then...
Teach Engineering
Android App Development
Building an accelerometer app for your Android device. Groups develop an app that uses the accelerometer on an Android device. The purpose of the activity is to reinforce the programming design. The post activity assessment challenges...
Teach Engineering
Maker Challenge: Adding Helpful Carrier Devices to Crutches
Make breaking a leg a less troublesome experience. Groups brainstorm designs for crutches that have devices that help carry items. They build prototypes of their devices to test out their designs.
Teach Engineering
Stop the Stretching
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.
Teach Engineering
Dress for Success
Dressing for success is not always about looking sharp. Sometimes it is about staying warm and dry. Present your class with an activity that challenges groups of pupils to design a layered material for blizzard conditions. The teams test...
Teach Engineering
Adapatations for Bird Flight - Inspiration for Aeronautical Engineering
It's a bird, it's a ... device made to mimic birds. The eighth installment of a nine-part module has pupils read various articles to learn about bird flight. They consider the implications for aeronautical engineering.
DiscoverE
Harmless Holder
Here's a lesson that's not for the birds! Scholars design and build packaging for soda cans that is environmentally friendly. These packages must be durable, easy to carry, and have no environmental impact.
Teach Engineering
Cost Comparisons
Our final proposal for the cost of the bridge requested is ... In the last segment in a series of 10, pairs work together to develop a proposal for a city bridge design. The class completes a cost comparison between concrete and steel to...
Discovery Education
Hurricane Force
It's important to make sure houses can withstand winds. A hands-on activity has learners create a structure out of household materials. They use a fan to simulate hurricane-force winds to see if their structures can withstand the...
DiscoverE
Rocket-Powered Ski Lift
If a ski lift had rockets, imagine how fast it would be! Scholars let their imaginations take flight as they build models for such a ski lift. Rather than using a rocket, though, they'll use a much safer balloon as the power source.
PBS
Hands-On Engineering Challenges to Bolster Your Electricity, Sound, and Force Units
Need some activities to go along with your unit? A collection of hands-on activities from PBS offers opportunities to add to your electricity, sound, and force units. The electricity activities revolve around building a pinball-type...
Teach Engineering
Load It Up!
See how a marshmallow can hold up a bridge load. Teams take a closer look at the design of bridge piers. They determine the types of loads that might affect a bridge, and, using that information, they calculate the needed cross-sectional...
Teach Engineering
Battle of the Beams
Make the strongest beam possible using taffy? Groups mold a taffy-water mixture into a beam and a reinforcing material of their choice. To finish the final installment of a two-part series, participants test its strength by adding...
Teach Engineering
Maximum Mentos Fountain
A messy fountain is potentially an energy experiment in disguise. Groups investigate the variables in creating a fountain from soda and Mentos. The last activity in a six-part series on energy has the class observe the fountain in terms...
Teach Engineering
Edible Rovers (High School)
Design and build a rover ... then eat it? This activity has groups of two design and build Mars rovers. The teams determine what instruments they want to include with their rover and plan a budget. They calculate the cost of the body of...
Teach Engineering
Edible Rovers
The good thing about building this rover is you get to eat it afterwards. Pairs determine rover parts they want to include in their design based upon their cost and usefulness. The teams design their rovers, build them from edible...