I get a charge out of this. In order to learn how a generator works, groups build and test one in this ninth lesson plan of the series. The generators are tested at low speed and high speed to determine the watt output and whether they...

The challenge: determine whether a tank will float. A design activity has groups work as engineering teams in order to determine the stability of given tanks and liquid contents. The teams need to determine the equations to...

Students brainstorm a list of potential uses for micro-video technologies. After reading an article, they analyze the development of a new pill-sized camera. In groups, they create a children's book that shows them the various systems of...

How do we know if the wind turbine at our school is impacting birds? Here, small groups work together and conduct field work in order to determine the impact of a human-made structure on birds. The groups also determine their searcher...

After reading about how wind turbines work to collect clean energy, groups brainstorm and design their own windmill. Within the provided financial and physical constraints, groups must build a working windmill using only the materials...

Third in a set of lessons regarding reservoirs, dams, and hydropower, this involves a two-day hydropower plant simulation. Collaborative groups build, maintain, and finance the plant. The transparency of the reservoir setup can be...

Working under specific constraints and with designated criteria, groups work together to create a product using an assembly line process. In addition, they work through the entire engineering design process with an excellent graphic to...

Providing clean water to a town is quite a feat... is your class up for the challenge? After a short reading about water towers, groups work together to design a working water delivery system. The water flow must be adjustable (able to...

Can my windmill pick up a weight? Given the same set of materials, groups design and build the most efficient windmill. On the first day, groups concentrate on getting a windmill to spin, while on the second day, they modify their...

In collaborative groups, emerging engineers or environmental scientists plan and construct a water wheel or watermill that rotates for a total of three minutes. Everything you need to carry out this lesson is included: objectives,...

After reading about the history of tape dispensers, learners compare and contrast different dispenser designs. Next, teams work within budgetary and time constraints to design a better dispenser. When finished, each engineer reflects on...

Water is a powerful force; harness it through watermills. The task at hand is to create a simple watermill that functions in flowing water for at least three minutes. Scholars work together in teams to design and construct such a...

Getting water to a tap requires an understanding the fundamentals of fluid flow. Groups design, build, and test a piping system to get water from the source — a five gallon bucket — to a tippy tap. The objective is to be able to...

A Rube Goldberg machine does not really look like it would make work easier. Introduce your class to Rube Goldberg with a resource that shows how his inventions make simple tasks harder to complete. 

The final performance task for the unit requires class members to utilize what they have learned to create a personal digital scene. Groups work together to develop a scene and then, using top-down design, break the scene into...

"Clean the data!" "I did not know it was dirty." Introduce your class to the process of cleaning data so that it can analyze it. Groups work through a guide that demonstrates the common ways to filter and sort data. Pairs then...

Work with your class to connect series and parallel circuits to hybrid cars. The lesson introduces basic circuit diagrams before having scholars apply the understanding of the difference between parallel and series circuits to...

Discuss mechanical advantage and how the human body moves/works. Learners focus on bioengineering, working together to build a functioning mechanical arm. Additionally, they analyze an air muscle, discussing its appropriate use in...

Generating a system of shapes. Groups work together to create a number system using three different shapes as symbols. The groups should come up with the rules that generate all the possible permutations of the three shapes.

Teams design and build a windmill, under budget, that can lift an object. The groups evaluate and reflect on their own design, then on those produced by other teams. The goal is to determine which design is the most...

Turn your classroom into a music studio as groups work together to determine why music sounds different when performed live versus a recording. After listening to some different music, each group picks a poem, creates a recording, and...

Looking for the best inclined plane for the job? Groups calculate the theoretical mechanical advantage for four different inclined planes. They determine the actual mechanical advantage by measuring the amount of force needed for the...

Class members are challenged to design a device that will move a circus elephant into a train car. Groups brainstorm ideas that use simple machines to load the elephant. They then choose one of their ideas, sketch a plan, and present it...

Let's see how complicated we can make this simple task. The last activity associated with a 10-part series has groups design and build a Rube Goldberg machine. Teams determine a simple task to accomplish and use the engineering design...