Sorting Solutions

Can you build a better mousetrap? Broken into two sessions, this plan introduces learners to the design process. The first session has pupils look at the world through a design perspective by redesigning everyday objects. In the second...

"By the hair on your chinny-chin-chin, I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in," says the big, bad wolf! Engineering hopefuls are challenged to design and construct a hurricane-proof building from simple office and craft...

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.

Take your class on an out-of-this-world adventure with this fun engineering design lesson plan. Working in small groups, young scientists design, build, and test crew exploration vehicles using some creativity, teamwork, and...

Help scholars develop a green thumb by building a green roof. Groups first grow lettuce seeds under normal conditions, then they try to grow the seeds in trays that are slanted by 45 degrees. They learn about tropism and engineering...

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...

Those corn husks can be put to good use. Future engineers design and build a new, biodegradable bag for potato chips out of corn husks. They test out their bags by shaking, dropping, and tossing them, as well as placing them in water.

How do computers sort data lists? Using eight unknown weights and a balance scale, groups determine the order of the weights from lightest to heaviest. A second worksheet provides the groups with other methods to order the weights. The...

Can you design the perfect chair? Scholars apply the engineering design process to design and build a prototype of a new type of chair from wires. They test their designs with a wooden artist model or stuffed animal.

The final performance task for the unit requires class members to utilize what they have learned to create a personal digital scene. Groups work together to develop a scene and then, using top-down design, break the scene into...