What kind of design challenges are there in building structures to support rocket engines? The unit takes design teams through the process of building the lightest possible thrust support structure that can withstand the necessary forces...

Let your class bounce to examine the concept elastic potential energy. Individuals bounce on a pogo stick in order to calculate its elastic potential energy. Groups then compare the elastic potential energy to the gravitational...

Small groups use the engineering design process to build and test a vehicle capable of carrying 250 grams a distance of five meters. The design must allow for the storage of potential energy and turn it into motion,...

Give your class a chance to show what they know. In the last installment of a seven-part series, pupils summarize and review what they have learned in the series. They present their solutions for creating a biosensor to detect cancer...

Here's your chance to save the world. The eighth lesson in a 25-part Energy Systems and Solutions unit has young scientists come up with ideas for individual or group projects. They identify ways to solve the energy crisis. Hope they...

Reduce the pressure in the classroom. The second instructional activity in an Airplanes unit of 22 introduces the class to Bernoulli's Principle. Pupils demonstrate the principle by blowing between different objects causing a reduction...

Do not let the pressure get to you. The first lesson in a unit of 22 introduces the concept of air pressure. Using background knowledge, the resource gives teachers the information they need to discuss how people measure air pressure and...

How important is aviation? Using the background information, teachers provide the class with a brief history of aviation. The class discusses how airplanes are important to the area of transportation in the 17th installment of a...

Get the class up and going with a lesson that discusses how airplane wings provide lift. Pupils use their knowledge of Bernoulli's Principle to develop an explanation of how it creates lift on airplane wings.

Lift—it is about the wing's attack. Using a virtual wind tunnel, pupils investigate wing shape and angle of attack. Learners use worksheets to record their observations and to convert verbal relationships into mathematical equations in...

Introduces your class to the types of loads experienced by a bridge. Groups calculate the ultimate load combinations to determine the maximum load requirement. Using this information, builders then determine the amount of material...

Does a tennis ball have energy? What about a bowling ball? Demonstrate concepts of different forms of energy forms and states with a variety of objects. Using the equations for potential and kinetic energy,...

Get your class outside to observe their surroundings with a instructional activity highlighting weather patterns and seasonal changes. First, learners take a weather walk to survey how the weather affects animals, people, plants, and...

Small groups use the knowledge learned about the heart to design and build a prototype of an artificial heart valve. The teams demonstrate the functionality of their valve. They are also responsible for creating a pamphlet that describes...

Introduce search engines with an activity that models how search engines work and the different algorithms they employ. Working in groups, class members then build search queries to demonstrate the knowledge learned.

One person's trash is another man's treasure. Challenge your class to build something useful out of the trash they throw away on a regular basis. Groups design and build a practical item from trash they collect, allowing the class to...

Whatever floats your boat. Young engineers learn about density by measuring the masses and volumes of boxes filled with different materials. Using their knowledge of densities, they hypothesize whether objects with given densities will...

Investigate what is pushing on us. An intriguing activity has pupils calculate the amount of force on various squares due to air pressure. Using the data, individuals create a graph in the third activity of the Up, Up and Away unit...

The classic egg-drop experiment gets a new bounce with an activity that asks pairs to design a lander similar to one used to land a rover on Mars within a fixed budget. The activity provides a great introduction to the idea of...

You can breathe easily now that you've found a winning resource. Young biologists learn about the process of cellular respiration, primarily through teacher-led discussion and instruction. They also consider the concept of...

Class members work in pairs to build a catapult to launch a grape a given distance. The catapult project, a compound machine, reinforces pupils' understanding of simple machines.

To get the word out that the Great Pacific garbage patch (GPGP) contains millions of pounds of non-biodegrading plastics, individuals research the GPGP and write an article for a newsletter. Researchers present their facts in a...

The engineering design process meets laparoscopic surgical robots with an activity that is the last part in a series of 10 and brings all the lessons of the unit together. Teams design and build a remotely controlled laparoscopic device....

Class members use a compass and several points to map out the magnetic field of a magnet. Pairs trace the magnetic field lines produced by a permanent magnet by positioning the compass in numerous spots around the magnet to view the...