Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Skyscrapers: Engineering Up!

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Skyscrapers are one of the most glorified products of Civil Engineering and contain an interesting history of progress and development. In this lesson plan, the students will learn about the history of the world's tallest free standing...
Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Stop the Stretching

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students will learn about composite materials, tension as a force and how they act on structural components through the design and testing of a strip of plastic chair webbing.
Lesson Plan
TryEngineering

Try Engineering: Engineer a Dam

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students learn about the engineering design process as they design, build, and test a dam structure in a classroom water trough. The objective of the lesson is to learn about the different types of dams and to build one that has the...
Lesson Plan
TryEngineering

Try Engineering: Engineered Music

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Object of this lesson is to learn about the engineering design of musical instruments. Students work in teams to design and build their own "tunable" and unique instrument using everyday materials.
Lesson Plan
TryEngineering

Try Engineering: Biomimicry in Engineering

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This lesson focuses on the concept of Biomimicry and students learn how engineers have incorporated structures and methods from the living world in products and solutions for all industries. Students then work in teams to develop a...
Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Science Careers: Materials Scientist and Engineer

For Students 9th - 10th
An interest in chemistry and physics is what you need to explore the career of materials scientist or engineer. In this career you manipulate atoms to change the structure of materials to make new products. This Science Buddies site lays...
Lesson Plan
TryEngineering

Try Engineering: Build a Big Wheel

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Young scholars learn about the engineering design process as they design, build, test, and evaluate a big wheel or Ferris wheel made with pasta, glue, and teabags. The objective of the lesson is to explore how big wheels have been...
Unit Plan
University of Virginia

University of Virgina: Structural Behavior and Design Approaches

For Students 9th - 10th
From the Introduction to Structural Design web site. A page of well-written lecture notes on the various structural qualities of building materials. A comparison is made of the strength, stiffness, stability and ductility of materials,...
Lesson Plan
TryEngineering

Try Engineering: Can You Copperplate?

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Chemical engineering lesson plan investigates the processes of chemical plating and electroplating. Teams of students work together to devise a chemical system for plating metal objects with copper, then test and evaluate their findings...
Lesson Plan
Other

American Society for Engineering Education: Building for Hurricanes

For Teachers 2nd - 8th
In this engineering design challenge about building in hurricane-prone regions, students learn that a solid base helps stabilize a structure by constructing, testing, and redesigning a tower that can support a tennis ball at least 18...
Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Investigating Torque

For Teachers 6th - 9th
This lesson focuses on torsion as a force acting upon structures. Students will have the opportunity to design something to withstand this force.
Lesson Plan
TryEngineering

Try Engineering: Water Tower Challenge

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students learn about the engineering design process as they design, build, and test a water tower made with everyday items. The objective of the lesson is to work in teams to learn about water delivery systems and create one that will...
Handout
Learn Engineering

Learn Engineering: Theory of Vibration

For Students 11th - 12th
Did you know that some bridges have failed due to the effect of vibration? This article and video explore vibration and its importance in the design of civil structures and mechanical equipment. The article discusses all concepts covered...
Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Highlighting the Neuron

For Teachers 5th - 7th
In this instructional activity on the brain's neural networks, students investigate the structure and function of the neuron. They discover ways in which engineers apply this knowledge to the development of devices that can activate...
Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Fairly Fundamental Facts About Forces & Structures

For Teachers 6th - 8th
This lesson plan will introduce students to the five fundamental loads: compression, tension, shear, bending, and torsion.
Lesson Plan
Scientific American

Scientific American: Earthquake Proof Engineering for Skyscrapers

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students construct a shake table, then build towers of different heights using Lego blocks, and test their stability on this platform. Next, they test towers with different sized bases, and towers made using different materials.
Lesson Plan
TryEngineering

Try Engineering: Solar Structures

For Teachers 9th - 10th
During this lesson, students will construct a passive solar house from everyday items then explore how the sun's energy is used to heat and cool it.
Website
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Smart Bridges

For Students 9th - 10th
In this video segment adapted from NOVA scienceNOW, learn about engineering innovations that could help detect a bridge's structural weaknesses before they become dangerous. [5:21]
Handout
National Institutes of Health

Ncbi: The Molecular Biology of the Cell: The Chemical Components of a Cell

For Students 9th - 10th
Advanced chapter of the book "The Molecular Biology of the Cell" describes and provides illustrations of our most current understanding of the chemical makeup of cells and their components. Explains in detail how electron activity keeps...
Handout
University of St. Andrews (UK)

University of St. Andrews: Charles Augustin De Coulomb

For Students 9th - 10th
A large complete authoritative biography of Coulomb. Five large pictures, over a dozen links to contemporaries, references, a poster, other mathematicians. A fine source.
Activity
PBS

Pbs: American Experience: The Center of the World: Teacher's Guide

For Students 9th - 10th
Students will have an opportunity to create memorials at the World Trade Center site to commemorate the September 11th attacks. Come and check it out.
Website
Other

Techi Warehouse: Sql Tutorial

For Students 9th - 10th
This site contains an overview and coding samples for a variety of SQL topics.
Activity
Exploratorium

Exploratorium: Science Snacks: Designer Ears

For Students 9th - 10th
Why do animals' ears all look different? In this activity, you will research all shapes and function of ears to create "better" ears.
Handout
State Library of North Carolina

N Cpedia: Fontana Dam

For Students 9th - 10th
Fontana Dam, the largest dam of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) system, is located on the Little Tennessee River in Graham County. Completed in 1945, it is a gravity-type concrete structure 480 feet high, 2,365 feet long, and 376...