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Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Design Your Own Milk Carton Boat

For Students 9th - 10th
Design different hull designs for boats from milk cartons and experiment with which hull will glide the fastest, be most maneuverable, and which will support the most weight. The Science Buddies project ideas are set up consistently...
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Lesson Plan
NASA

Nasa E Clips: Nasa's Launchpad: The Great Boomerang Challenge [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students use the principles of technological and engineering design to research and explain how airfoil shape affects flight characteristics and how it applies to boomerang flight.. They will work in teams to design, build, test, and...
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Lesson Plan
NASA

Nasa: Light but Strong

For Teachers K - 1st
Use these lessons from NASA to teach multiple Next Generation Science Standards for grades K-5. Properties of matter and engineering design are the focus of these lessons. Detailed plans and student handouts are included. [PDF]
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Interactive
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Off the Grid

For Students 9th - 10th
This interactive activity produced for Teachers' Domain presents users with three hypothetical scenarios in which they are challenged to design a wind power system that will meet their electrical needs.
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Website
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Lego Robots

For Students 3rd - 8th
In this video segment adapted from ZOOM, cast members enter the FIRST LEGO League Challenge tournament and work as a team to program their LEGO robot to navigate a complex obstacle course. [6:01]
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Professional Doc
PBS

Pbs: Teaching Ngss Engineering Design Through Media

For Students Pre-K - 1st
A collection of activities and professional development resources to deepen teachers' understanding of Next Generation Science Standards. Site is meant to help teachers bring engineering alive for their students.
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Lesson Plan
Other

Ontario Council for Technology Education: Transportation Design and Construction [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this project, young scholars will develop knowledge and skills related to the construction of vehicle/craft systems. They will identify and describe the major systems and components of vehicles, aircraft, and/or watercraft such as...
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Lesson Plan
Other

Ontario Council for Technology Education: Designing and Testing a Crane [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
By the end of this project, students will be familiar with the 6 different simple machines and will be able to identify how these machines are used in products and tools they use on a daily basis. They will investigate how mechanical...
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Lesson Plan
Other

Ontario Council for Technology Education: Designing a Tool Storage Board [Pdf]

For Teachers 10th - 12th
Students begin this project by taking an inventory of hand tools at home. They then categorize their tools and make a detailed list in a spreadsheet. After research on tool storage, they will choose materials and a tool board style, then...
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Lesson Plan
Other

Ontario Council for Technology Education: Model Greenhouse Construction [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students will design and construct a scale model of a greenhouse using the design process. Each student designs and builds a device that will act as a greenhouse in which to propagate plants from seed, that allows for easy access, and...
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Lesson Plan
Other

Ontario Council for Technology Education: Designing a Bus Shelter [Pdf]

For Teachers 10th - 12th
By the end of this project, the student will be able to understand and work through the stages of the design process, assess and develop design criteria when creating concept and scaled sketches, and use computer design software...
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Handout
Other

Branksome Hall Asia: Design and Inquiry: Sustainable Design

For Students 9th - 10th
Sustainable design is a philosophy of developing products in line with social, economic, and ecological sustainability principles. In design, it is important to understand the distinction between Green Design and Sustainable Design....
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Lesson Plan
Children's Museum

The Children's Museum of Indianapolis: Build a Parachute

For Teachers K - 1st
Young scholars create a parachute to explore how air pushes up against an object and slows it down as it falls.
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Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Making Everyday Objects Out of Mushrooms: Environmentally Friendly Design

For Students 9th - 10th
In this activity, you will use mushroom roots to grow a biodegradable material that can be molded into a product of your liking, like a flowerpot.
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Graphic
PBS

Pbs Learning Media: Young Inventors

For Students Pre-K - 1st
In this stills collage adapted from the National Science Teachers Association/Craftsman Young Inventors Awards, see several inventions by students in grades 4-7 and read about some of the challenges they faced during the design process.
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Lesson Plan
TryEngineering

Try Engineering: Pollution Patrol

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students will work in teams to design and construct outdoor air pollution detectors from everyday items. They will then test the designs for presence of pollutants in the air and communicate their results to the class.
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Lesson Plan
TryEngineering

Try Engineering: Solar Structures

For Teachers 9th - 10th
During this lesson, students will construct a passive solar house from everyday items then explore how the sun's energy is used to heat and cool it.
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Lesson Plan
TryEngineering

Try Engineering: Engineered Sports

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students work in teams to investigate how aerospace engineering relates to sports, especially golf ball design and the physics of bounce. They use this information to determine whether these aerospace principles can be applied to...
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Interactive
PBS

Pbs Kids: Cat in the Hat: The Marbleous Marvel Coaster

For Students 1st - 3rd
Test your engineering skills by creating your own rollercoaster using open-ended play.
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Activity
PBS

Nova Teacher: Saved by the Sun: Classroom Activity

For Teachers 9th - 10th
During the lesson, students will also design, build and test a solar cooker that pasteurizes water.
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Lesson Plan
Other

Fuel Our Future Now: Grade K 2 Module: Vroom! Vroom! What Makes Cars Go? [Pdf]

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st
In this K-2 teaching module, students explore motion, gravity, friction, and energy using objects and model cars. They investigate using hands-on activities with vehicles, as well as online interactives and videos. The culminating event...
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Lesson Plan
Other

Fuel Our Future Now: Grade 9 12 Module: Vehicle Design Virtual Lab [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students act as a community of STEM research professionals, working together to solve energy efficiency problems in today's vehicles. Students then design and test vehicles that are suitable for different consumer needs based on...
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Issues, Issues Everywhere

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
In this activity, students will learn to identify different opinions related to an issue as well as the things (information, values and beliefs) that influence those opinions. They will use an opinion spectrum to analyze the range of...
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Too Much Pressure!

For Teachers 5th - 8th
In this activity, students learn how engineers design faucets. Students will learn about water pressure by building a simple system to model faucets and test the relationship between pressure, area and force. This is a great outdoor...