Shake up your lessons on earthquakes. A simple seismograph lets scholars record "earthquakes" in the classroom. These earthquakes occur when classmates drop balls from different heights. Young scientists measure these with seismographs...

Who said teaching a STEM instructional activity had to be challenging? Incorporate a career and technology-centered car build into your upcoming force lesson plan, and your class will be moving down the road in no time! Pupils practice...

Join together to investigate truss joints. Scholars learn how to analyze forces at truss joints to determine the strength of truss bridges. They apply the "method of joints" in calculating the tension and compression forces at each joint...

Make the most of project-based learning with Makerspace. A playbook shows instructors and other interested parties how to set up a Makerspace and Maker community to foster STEM projects. It gives ideas for startup activities and for...

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...

Here's an exciting and innovative lesson that's sure to get your charges fired up! In it, they use engineering design principles to construct and test a fully solar powered car. One caveat: the kits that each group needs to make their...

Students make spinners to investigate rotational inertia, rotational speed, angular momentum, and velocity. They make two sets of spinners that have different mass distributions and shapes. They complete a worksheet while experimenting...

What do a folding iron board, lawn sprinklers, and a device for oiling engines on trains all have in common? They were all invented by Elijah McCoy, an African American inventor with 57 patents to his credit. McCoy is the subject of...

Teams work as material engineers to create ferrofluids, whose shape is influenced by magnetic fields. The activity, which is the fourth in the six-part series, has the teams create magnetic ink and use it to write, testing it with a...

Do flexible circuits change dimensions during fabrication? Groups use GeoGebra software to measure the length of pictures of flexible nano-circuits. To determine if the circuits change dimensions, future engineers use Microsoft...

Young scholars utilize strategies to comprehend literature. They write stories with diverse vocablulary that incorporate the difference between internal and external conflict. They make sure that the stories use methods of managing and...

Students study the physical force of linear momentum by investigating collisions. They analyze the difference between elastic and inelastic collisions. They calculate linear momentum.

Students examine how steamships operate. They describe the necessary energy conversions. They construct a model paddlewheel ship. They use rubber bands as examples of potential and kinetic energy as they unwind and set the models in motion.

Students examine how motion capture technology allows computer based animators to design realistic effects in animation. They study how the center of gravity contributes to animation and how to use the center of gravity to write an...

Students build a device that captures and carries a pet rat safely back to its cage with out "harming" the rat or themselves. They build and experiment with wind-up or battery operated rat cat toys after predicting the outcome of their...

Science Students build a pooper scooper tool that helps them clean up after a dog without getting their hands dirty or their noses too close. They research the diseases that can be transported through animal waste and work in teams to...

Rolling for momentum. As part of a study of mechanical energy, momentum, and friction, class members experiment rolling a ball down an incline and having it collide with a cup. Groups take multiple measurements and perform...

What effect makes children's shoes light up? Answer: Piezoelectric effect. Here is a PowerPoint presentation that describes piezoelectric materials as being able to convert mechanical energy to electrical energy. Individuals learn how...

Learners explore the concept of how brakes can stop or slow mechanical motion. They examine the operation of a bicycle brake and use low cost materials to devise a simple braking system. Finally, they work as a team to suggest...

What do Pascal's law, Archimedes' Principle, and Bernoulli's Principle have to do with fluid mechanics? The included PowerPoint presentation provides the basic definitions and equations associated with the three. A set of homework...

Young hydrologists observe a waterwheel which helps them investigate the transformations of energy that occur when the blades of a hydro-turbine are turning. They work together in pairs and pretend to be engineers who are building a new...

A variety of concepts are covered in this PowerPoint which gives the main engineering points of different aircraft types. Each slide details the engineering behind non-rigid and rigid categories of lighter or non-lighter than air...

Does the angle of a solar panel change the output? Emerging engineers find out! Demonstrate for your class how they can angle a straw to match the angle of light rays coming from a source. Then turn them loose to experiment with the...

Here is a comprehensive and well-written lesson plan that results in learners building a standard wind turbine. Once built, teens can design a variety of experiments to test different factors. This activity is a noble undertaking that...