A collection of articles on products that have been reinvented to improve their designs.

In this activity, students will create a pendulum that creates beautiful designs with its repetitive patterns. Study the movement of pendulums with these designs.

Students will observe the physical properties of items through an activity where they sort objects for recycling. This lesson plan also includes a recycle papermaking process.

Build a robot and watch how it moves. Activity is designed to help students learn how electrical circuits and switches control how things move.

Lesson focuses on how computerized barcodes have improved efficiency in product distribution; explores the barcoding process and engineering design.

Andy's Golf is physics-based fun for the whole family. Take your best shot to avoid obstacles and beat par!

This NSTA vetted source includes resources to show that an object made up of a small set of pieces can be disassembled and made into a new object. Included are assessment ideas, videos, examples, lesson plans, and photos of student work.

The purpose of this lesson is to reinforce the idea that things are made up of small parts that can be recombined in novel ways. It also shows that the shape of certain parts dictates their function. Students delight in taking things...

In this activity, students are challenged to look at technologies from the last 100 years and invent a product that could help us all lead a more sustainable future. Includes downloadable activity sheets, a PowerPoint, and a colorful...

Build a signal horn to make low-frequency sounds that can be heard from far away in this STEM lesson. Use this interactive site to document your design process. Included on the site is a video explaining a possible solution to the problem.

Using paper and tape, students are challenged to build a honeycomb structure that is able to support a heavy textbook or more. The website includes a place for students to document their design process, tips, and a lesson plan.

Create a simple machine that transfers a rotational motion into linear vertical motion with this challenge. The site gives more details on the challenge as well as tips and place to document your design process. Teachers can find a...

This website challenges students to make a simple machine out of a straw to mimic the movement of joints in your body. The website includes a lesson plan, tips, and a place for students to document their design process.

This website contains a challenge for students to build a paper bird that glides at least six feet. The site also contains a lesson plan, tips, and a place for students to document their design process.

In this unit, students will learn about the difficulty that farmers in Bangladesh and the UK experience trying to grow crops on land that is regularly flooded. Then they will be challenged to make a model of a structure that can float to...

In this unit, students explore how life for people in the rural mountainous regions of Peru is different as they live without access to electricity. They learn how small-scale wind turbines have changed people's lives, as with a supply...

In this activity, students work in small groups to construct a tower that will support a book using everyday materials. The goal is to develop persistence in continuing with a task even when experiencing some failures. This is modeled...

Design and construct a structure out of spaghetti and marshmallows. Although spaghetti doesn't seem like a strong building material, you can build surprisingly elegant and sturdy structures using it.

Design and construct a glider that files! Compare the flights with classmates' prototypes to test the success of your design.

An hands-on lesson where students create a wind powered boat with their knowledge of reusing, recycling of materials, and wind power.

Work samples, phenomena, assessment templates, and videos that directly address standard 4-PS3-4: energy conversion device.

An introduction to an investigation of real-world problems to develop viable solutions to global access to clean water.

This is a hands-on activity that uses science and the steps of the Engineering Design Process to determine important properties in sail design materials and learn how to harness wind power. Students will learn that a problem can be...

PBS site provides videos and activities 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.