Civil Engineering: Designing Bridges

Engineering enthusiasts are sure to explode in understanding as they practice the engineering design process (EDP). A container of "toxic popcorn" is placed in the classroom. Teams must work together to devise a method for removing it...

Using popsicle sticks and glue, groups must work together to design and build a bridge that can support weight and is aesthetically pleasing. The activity begins by learners reading about different features of bridge architecture,...

Shake things up in your STEM or earth science classroom when you have small groups construct their own seismographs. A reading assignment on the history of seismographs, the Richter scale, and current technology sets the stage for the...

What would it take to live on the lunar surface? Small groups build model rockets in order to simulate launching a habitat into space and rebuilding it. Divide the class into groups to design and build a model of a lunar habitat. The...

Students design and construct a pipeline to carry a ping pong ball and a golf ball across the classroom.   For this engineering design lesson, students learn to work as a team as they plan, build, and evaluate their pipelines.

What goes up does not always come down. Working in teams of two or three, classmates design and build a working elevator. The elevator must be able to safely deliver a car to any level of a parking structure. In order to assist with the...

Keeping items cool in boiling water... what? This engaging activity challenges high school learners to build a container that keeps butter in a solid state when placing the container in boiling water. Groups use previous knowledge and...

During the Winter Olympics, this would be an engaging task to include in your STEM lesson plan. Design teams plan, construct, and test a miniature ski lift that can carry a pingpong ball up and down a rope line without falling out. With...

Water is essential to life on earth. How is it then, that people can survive in desert regions with very limited access to fresh water? Through ingenious architecture and engineering, communities in India's Golden Desert have been able...

The challenge: determine whether a tank will float. A design activity has groups work as engineering teams in order to determine the stability of given tanks and liquid contents. The teams need to determine the equations to calculate the...