Texas Education Agency (TEA)
Build a Paper Structure
Who knew that paper is an amazing building material? Scholars learn about the properties of planar materials, such as paper, as well as their structural capabilities in the sixth lesson a series of 11 on architecture. Working in groups,...
Curated OER
Good Old Earth Materials
Students investigate different types of building structures and how they are able to stand up to earthquakes. Through comparison they determine which buildings are better able to handle earthquakes than others. They create a building,...
Teach Engineering
Fun Look at Material Science
Introduce materials science with a class demonstration. After showing a PowerPoint presentation on materials and their properties, instructors provide a ceramic tile, a Popsicle stick, a paper clip, and a plastic bag as examples of...
Cornell University
Bridge Building
Bridge the gaps in your knowledge of bridges. Individuals learn about bridge types by building models. The activity introduces beam bridges, arch bridges, truss bridges, and suspension bridges.
DiscoverE
Build a Bridge
Cost overruns are unacceptable—in the real world and in an engaging activity. Groups of pupils get together to build a bridge out of straws, paper cups, and tape. They keep track of costs ($1,000 for each material) and must stay within a...
Curated OER
Building Bridges
Provide a comprehensive exploration of bridges and civil engineering. First, learners discuss the different types of bridges. Then, they identify the characteristics of a suspension, beam, and arch type of bridge. In addition, they learn...
California Academy of Science
Building Better Buses: Transportation Design Challenges
Scholars learn about a series of three challenges when they design a bus system for a small town. They determine the bus routes and then figure out the best type of fuel to use before considering the cost of going electric. Learners...
NASA
Designing and Building the Lunar Plant Growth Chamber
Build a place for the plants. Using information learned from the previous lesson in the unit, learners design a lunar plant growth chamber and build a paper model of it. Given strips of paper that represent different sizes of planting...
Curated OER
Boat Hull Design
Working in small groups students develop three alternative boat designs. They discuss the rationale for the type of hull, propeller, location of ballast, and type of building material used in their design. They build their boat.
Berkshire Museum
Backyard Rocks
You don't have to travel far to learn about rocks, just step outside, pick up a stone, and begin investigating. After taking a class walk around the school grounds collecting rocks, young scientists practice their skills of observation...
Science Matters
Landforms from Volcanoes
Three major types of volcanoes exist: cinder cone, composite/strata, and shield. The 18th lesson in a 20-part series covers the various landforms created from volcanoes. Scholars work in pairs to correctly identify the three types based...
Teach Engineering
Fun with Air-Powered Pneumatics
How high did the ball go? Engineering teams build a working pneumatic system that launches a ball into the air. The teams vary the amount of pressure and determine the accompanying height of the ball. An extension of building a device to...
Cornell University
Build a Fuel Cell
Discover the connection between redox reactions and fuel cells. Collaborative groups build a Hoffmann Apparatus that demonstrates the electrolysis of water and then convert their models into a fuel cell. They use their fuel cells to...
Curated OER
Build an Outdoor Compost Heap
Learners study how to create a compost heap. In this composting lesson, students create a compost heap. Learners write an essay describing the process.
Curated OER
The Math in the Design and Building of Bridges
Research various types of bridge designs. Your class will be asked to consider what it would be like without bridges while learning about how they work. They will construct a model bridge based on given parameters. They then calculate...
Curated OER
What Type of Students do Colleges Want?
What do college admissions teams look at when deciding who get's in and who doesn't? The class considers the types of classroom and extra curricular activities they participate in and how those might improve their chances at getting into...
Curated OER
Building Big and Strong
Middle and high schoolers explore the concepts of architectural rigidity. They analyze a variety of polygons, and explain why some shapes add more strength to structures than others. The PBS video, "Building Big," is utilized in this plan.
University of Connecticut
Building Your Own Biosphere
On September 26, 1991, four women and four men entered the scientific experiment, Biosphere 2; the doors were sealed for two years in order to study the interactions of a biosphere. In the activity, scholars explore biospheres by...
Code.org
Star Wars: Building a Galaxy with Code
Welcome to the code side. The interactive lesson plan introduces coding in a game format with familiar characters. Young computer experts learn to develop code to control the interaction of the characters in the game. The activity ends...
Curated OER
Building Challenges
Students work together to complete different building challenges. They use prior knowledge to build tunnels and different types of bridges. They share their creations with the group.
Tech Museum of Innovation
Engineering Takes Flight
Groups explore concepts of flight by creating paper airplanes from different types of paper and testing their flight. They use the results to identify the optimal material.
Curated OER
Suspension Bridge Building
Students build a model of a suspension bridge and test the amount of weight it will support. In this engineering lesson, students study types of bridges and attempt to construct a suspension bridge shown in a diagram. They use string and...
Curated OER
Model Volcanoes
Students represent volcanoes with models and sketches. They research volcanoes and plan how to build a model. They, in groups, build a model volcano and cause it to erupt making observations before and after the eruption.
Curated OER
Tide Types
Learners record hourly reading for water height for 24 hours and determine whether a location experiences diurnal, semi-diurnal or mixed tides. Links are present for the information. Students predict high and low tide, and answer a set...