Materials Engineering: Designing Walls

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...

Construction leads to habitat loss and local wildlife suffers. Scholars must build a reptile egg incubation device that meets many constraints. Various experiments help them discover the chemical reaction needed to reach the proper...

Sure, you may be able to build a better mousetrap, but what about a gum dispenser? In a fun engineering challenge, teams must design and build a working interactive gumball machine with specific constraints and criteria.

Here is a tasty challenge, especially for middle school engineers: design a container that meets mass and volume criteria, and will safely transport a tortilla or potato chip through the mail without damaging it! Mostly, this is a crisp...

To begin the learning about dams, learners read (or are read to, depending on the age group) a passage about how dams work. Next, they work in groups to use the materials provided to build a small scale working dam. After the experience,...

Sound engineers investigate the structural design of a musical instrument, the recorder. They work in collaborative groups to choose an instrument to build out of everyday craft materials. It must be able to repeat a three-note sequence...

Working under specific constraints and with designated criteria, groups work together to create a product using an assembly line process. In addition, they work through the entire engineering design process with an excellent graphic to...

Take your time with this lesson. Junior engineers read about different types of clocks and then work together to build a pendulum time-keeper. There are no hints as to how they might go about accomplishing this complex task, so you may...

Hold a free-throw shooting challenge in your engineering class! Each team must design a contraption that will fire off a "robot arm" or, more specifically, a catapult, to send a Ping-Pong ball into a basket. Use this as an opportunity to...

Electricity is an integral part of our daily lives, but many energy sources are damaging the environment. Young engineers read about innovations in alternative energy sources, then work in groups to design and build a model of a system...