The purpose of this activity is to introduce students to the concept of the engineering design process and to teach them how to apply it. In "Broken Bones," students will explore the steps of the engineering design process. They will...

Students are given a biomedical engineering challenge, which they solve while following the steps of the engineering design process. In a design lab environment, student groups design, create, and test prototype devices that help people...

Students are introduced to the world of creative engineering product design. Through six activities, teams work through the steps of the engineering design process (or loop) by completing an actual design challenge presented in six...

We all know that it takes energy to provide us with the basics of shelter: heating, cooling, lighting, electricity, sanitation and cooking. To create energy-efficient housing that is practical for people to use every day requires...

This module is written for a first-year algebra-based physics class, though it could easily be modified for conceptual physics. It is intended to provide hands-on activities to teach the overarching concept of energy, as it relates to...

Students follow the steps of the engineering design process (EDP) while learning about assistive devices and biomedical engineering. They first go through a design-build-test activity to learn the steps of the cyclical engineering design...

Students are introduced to biomedical engineering and the engineering design process through a short lecture and an activity in which they design their own medical devices for retrieving foreign bodies from the ear canal. They learn...

Student groups are provided with a generic car base on which to design a device/enclosure to protect an egg as it rolls down a ramp at increasing slopes. During this activity, student teams design, build and test their prototype...

Students learn about electricity and air pollution while building devices to measure volatile organic compounds (VOC) by attaching VOC sensors to prototyping boards. In the second part of the activity, students evaluate the impact of...

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

After listening to the presented scenario, students are asked to design, create, and test a prototype of a bag that can carry their belongings and meet certain criteria.

Working as if they are engineers who work for (the hypothetical) Build-a-Toy Workshop company, students apply their imaginations and the engineering design process to design and build prototype toys with moving parts. They set up...

Students learn how engineers harness the energy of the wind to produce power by following the engineering design process as they prototype two types of wind turbines and test to see which works best. Students also learn how engineers...

This unit contains a series of lessons that allow students to explore the effect of sunlight on Earth's natural surfaces of sand, soil, rock, and water. In addition, students explore how the color and material of a surface affects how...

This instructional activity focuses on how engineers improve assistive devices such as a cane to meet the needs of the elderly. Students work in teams to re-engineer a cane for a "client." They are assigned a client profile, develop a...

In this STEAM lesson, students are immersed in a world of transportation design as they use the design thinking process to create their own vehicle prototype out of everyday materials.

This site describes the process of taking a product idea from design to production.

An article on the PICS (Platform for Internet Content Selection). Includes flexible blocking with illustrations, what PICS doesn't specify, and other uses for labels.

Students practice the initial steps involved in an engineering design challenge. They begin by reviewing the steps of the engineering design loop and discussing the client need for the project. Next, they identify a relevant context,...

Students model and design the sound environment for a room. They analyze the sound performance of different materials that represent wallpaper, thick curtains, and sound-absorbing panels. Then, referring to the results of their analysis,...

Students will design and build a mechanical arm that lifts and moves an empty 12-ounce soda can using hydraulics for power. Small design teams (1-2 students) will design and build a single axis for use in the completed mechanical arm....

Students are introduced to various types of energy with a focus on thermal energy and types of heat transfer as they are challenged to design a better travel thermos that is cost efficient, aesthetically pleasing and meets the design...

In this activity, young scholars prepare their design plans for building their own toy vehicle from local manufacturers' discards. They start to conceptualize what may help the vehicle roll straight and far as they discuss ideas with...

This is an engineering activity that requires students to build a mousetrap car based on certain constraints. Constraints include students having a virtual budget that they use to buy approved parts for their car, the car having...