Sometimes, taking things apart is more fun than putting things together. Groups of learners participate in a reverse engineering activity. They dissect a device of their choosing to see how it works—great hands-on learning from the...

Students reverse engineer a cereal. For this dietary lesson students identify the minerals that the human body needs to function. Students examine how foods are fortified by food engineers. Students find the amount of iron in a cereal by...

Let nature guide your engineering designs. By taking apart a flower, pupils learn about reverse engineering. They use the results to brainstorm designs for new products or ideas. This is the seventh installment of a nine-part Life...

A series on environmental engineering introduces the class to issues that environmental engineers work to solve. This first instructional activity focuses on air and land issues, and looks at ways to reduce pollution.

Do your part to make manufacturing more manageable. A capstone project challenges each group to identify and research a manufacturing process for a product. To complete the activity, they create a presentation for business and community...

Students study a way to quantify the process of photosynthesis during a given time using the Elodea plant. They design a hypothesis that they test in the hands on activity. They compare the amounts of photosynthesis that occur during low...

Defy the laws of gravity. A simple activity has learners create a siphon pump for water. The challenge is to get water to flow upwards through a tube.

How do you get started designing a product to meet your engineering design goals? Here, learners gain understanding of an important aspect of the engineering design process: background research. Through brainstorming and worksheets,...

Let the solar cells fight each other for supremacy! Given a functional solar tracker that moves toward light, groups copy the design to build their own devices. They use two sets of solar cells that have reverse polarization, so that the...

Students explore various computer items. They describe possible alternative uses for computer technology. Students explore the practice of "reverse engineering." They write an opinion essay on the ethics behind "reverse engineering."

Bridges rely on tension and compression to keep them standing. Pairs test this principle by constructing simple bridges and applying a force to the center. Teams use the provided worksheet to record their observations of the...

Light and sound go hand in hand. Pupils set up a system that will emit sound when a laser is directed at a photodiode. Various objects, such as a comb and talcum powder, allow for modulation of the laser beam. Individuals also...

Learners dissamble and analyze the spring system of a click pen. They analyze a cross-section worksheet, dissamble the pens, fill in the missing parts of the cross-section diagram, and write a description of how the pen works.

Students build Lego cars with attached light sensors. They program the car to enter a tunnel and reverse out when it records a darker light reading.

Students identify features that make an automobile practical for a cross-country trip and then design a 1903 era auto using lessons learned from Horatio's journey.

Students analyze a simple machine and use "reverse engineering" to create an exact replica. They interpret incomplete information to build a simple wheel-and-axle machine. Students discuss how building a machine activity correlates to...

Students investigate how to read a topographical map and triangulate with just a map. They convert a compass measurement to a protractor measurement, reverse a bearing direction, and using a worksheet take a bearing of certain landmarks...

This activity could be used in a home economics class to teach students about sewing and clothing. Using this 10 question learning exercise, learners explore the function of a sewing machine, and plan a project.  

Use science fiction movies to teach pupils about antimatter and alternate universes. Individuals learn about the portrayal of antimatter and alternate universes in movies such as Star Trek and Angels & Demons. They consider three...

Is that a fact or an opinion? Learners explore the difference using this pocket chart activity during which partners read statement cards and determine whether they are facts or opinions.

Students investigate different balls' abilities to bounce. They conduct a Ball Bounce Height Comparison and Ball Bounce Time Comparison, complete a worksheet, graph the results of their experiment, and answer investigating questions.

Students discover the faults throughout the Earth. They describe the different types of faults and how they are related to earthquakes. They build models of the faults.

Students explain that photosynthesis is a process that plants use to convert light energy into glucose. They summarize photosynthesis as a chemical process in which the plant uses carbon dioxide and water to form glucose and oxygen.

Students rewrite word problems using equations. In this algebra instructional activity, students relate the concept of equations and symbols to the real world. They graph their solutions on a graph and analyze it.