Lighting is responsible for nearly one-third of the electricity use in buildings. One of the best ways to conserve energy is to make sure the lights are turned off when no one is in a room. This process can be automated using motion...

Students continue their exploration of the human senses and their engineering counterparts, focusing on the auditory sense. Working in small groups, students design, create and run programs to control the motion of LEGO TaskBots. By...

This lesson is an exciting conclusion to the airplanes unit that encourages students to think creatively. After a review of the concepts learned, students will design their own flying machine based on their knowledge of the forces...

This is a USS Constitution Museum resource that has students compare the area of the size of the sails of the USS Constitution as it compares to their classroom.

Tell the class that they will be making collages of USS Constitution. Reproduce the sails and hull pages to hand out along with scissors, rulers, paste and pieces of paper 11" x 17" on which students may assemble their collages.

Students learn about the advantages and disadvantages of the greenhouse effect. They construct their own miniature greenhouses and explore how their designs take advantage of heat transfer processes to create controlled environments....

Students prepare for the associated activity in which they investigate acceleration by collecting acceleration vs. time data using the accelerometer of a sliding Android device. Based on the experimental set-up for the activity, students...

A website giving a challenge for students to construct a stomp rocket that can carry a ping pong ball and hit a target.

Simon Rodia built the Watts Towers by gathering fragments of "junk" he found in the neighborhood. He put all of these small pieces together to build a spectacular tower. Students will observe that something BIG can be created from lots...

Junior scientists use their imagination to create a Lego car. This investigation allows scientists to see that they can put items together to create some new product. Videos of the lesson in action and examples of student's journal...

Find hands-on challenges that focus on the engineering design process that use simple materials, allow for multiple solutions, and are ideal for ages 9-12.

In this activity, students will design a process that removes the most iron from the cereal. This activity is meant for the students to experiment with different materials using what they know about iron, magnets, and forces to design...

Using a household fan, cardboard box and paper towels, student teams design and build an evaporative cooler (swamp cooler). They learn about the process that cools water during the evaporation of water. They make calculations to...

In this instructional activity, students will learn that minerals are a necessary part of our diet. They will learn that different minerals have different functions in the body. More specifically, they will discover that iron is...

This educator guide provides teachers with an outline for the entire Moon Munchies unit. Students will be able to design and build a lunar plant growth chamber using the Engineering Design Process.

Videos that accompany activities that are hands-on challenges that focus on the engineering design process. They use simple materials, allow for multiple solutions, and are ideal for ages 9-12.

A textbook activity where students work in teams to design a device or technique that will prevent plastic microbeads from entering local lakes and streams. They will use the engineering process to design a solution and then present...

This lesson is designed to help students document their research for a year long capstone project. (Creating an Engineering Report)The students will be following the requirements for the Siemens Math, Science Technology competition....

How are designs turned into products?How are designs turned into products? This unit will introduce manufacturing as a system and will describe some of the many different ways of making products.

Students take on the role of engineers who need to design a roller coaster. They will explore the history of roller coasters, the different types, and the many things that can affect the success or failure of a roller coaster. Finally,...

In this activity, students work in teams with a range of materials to choose from to design and build a mobile that warns birds away from a window or a building.

This project resulted from the collaboration of a computer aided drafting teacher (pre-engineering), Chris Bond, and a math teacher, Lee Cable, (Hewitt-Trussville High School) to provide higher math expectations in CT and real life...

Founded in 1990, Oxo is beloved by design nerds for the way that the company takes everyday objects (like the salad spinner) and finds sometimes subtle, but always clever, ways to reinvent them. The designs are based on the principle of...

Some designers offer their ideas about everyday objects that they think need to be improved, things like plastic furniture, the shopping cart, the clothesline, and a hammer and nail.