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Interactive
Museum of Modern Art

Mo Ma: Different Roads: Automobiles for the Next Century

For Students 9th - 10th
Check out some of the future car designs from major manufacturers. Also learn about what goes in to powering cars among other bits of information.
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Handout
Library of Congress

Loc: America's Story: Traveling by Car

For Students 3rd - 8th
Learn how the Model T automobile changed public transportation and how the national highway system was the rest of the story about America's love affair with the automobile.
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Pbs Teachers: Scientific American: Future Car: Fuel Cells

For Teachers 5th - 8th
Investigate the innovations surrounding fuel cell technology and the potential use of hydrogen as an automobile power source. Generate hydrogen gas by splitting water in a process called electrolysis.
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Interactive
Other

Americans Well Informed on Automobile Retailing Economics: Auto Financing 101

For Students 9th - 10th
Information on financing a car purchase, including tips, a financing calculator, and a quiz.
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Website
PBS

Pbs Online News Hour: American Automobile Industry Seeks Rescue Plan to Survive

For Students 9th - 10th
The major automobile companies in the U.S. need to stabilize themselves in this hurting economy. Learn more about it and share discussion questions as a class. December 12, 2008
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Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: The Ethical Dilemma of Self Driving Cars

For Students 9th - 10th
Self-driving cars are already cruising the streets today. And while these cars will ultimately be safer and cleaner than their manual counterparts, they can't completely avoid accidents altogether. How should the car be programmed if it...
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Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: Making a Car for Blind Drivers

For Students 9th - 10th
Using robotics, laser rangefinders, GPS and smart feedback tools, Dennis Hong is building a car for drivers who are blind. It's not a "self-driving" car, he's careful to note, but a car in which a non-sighted driver can determine speed,...
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Article
Curated OER

Kids Health: A Guide to Staying Safe in the Car and on the Bus

For Students 3rd - 5th
KidsHealth.org says that riding in cars and school buses comes with responsibility. You need to ride safely. Here you will learn the rules of car and bus safety, beginning with Seat Belt Basics.
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Handout
Science4Fun

Science4 Fun: Car

For Students K - 1st
Illustrated discussion of the first car in 1769, the first practical car by designer Karl Benz in 1885, and the invention of combustion engines.
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Activity
Other

Manitoba Antique Automobile Museum

For Students 9th - 10th
Automobiles that were part of Manitoba transportation history are offered on this website from the Manitoba Antique Automobile Museum in Elkhorn. There are pictures and descriptions, a history of the museum with a virtual tour and plenty...
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Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Haynes Automobile

For Students 9th - 10th
This collection of early automobiles from the Smithsonian includes the Haynes automobile, made in 1894. Read about how this early car operated, see pictures of this display in the Smithsonian, and read brief biographies of the men who...
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Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Automobile Choices and Alternative Fuels

For Students 9th - 10th
This is an activity in which students take the role of either a car seller or a car buyer to learn about transportation energy options. Car sellers are challenged to pitch to buyers about cars with a particular fuel type while car buyers...
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Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Museum of American History: Duryea Automobile

For Students 9th - 10th
From the Smithsonian collection of early automobiles. Read about the Duryea automobile and how it worked. Included are pictures of this early car and a brief description of its creators, the Duryea brothers.
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Handout
Smithsonian Institution

Encyclopedia Smithsonian: Information About Tucker Automobiles

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides information on the Tucker automobile which introduced many features that have since become widely used in modern cars. Production was shut down amidst the scandal of fraud allegations in 1949.
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Website
NBC

Science of Innovation: Self Driving Cars

For Students 9th - 10th
This tutorial includes a video filmed at Google headquarters in Mountain View, California, computer scientist Sebastian Thrun and his team of software engineers are creating a fleet of self-driving cars. His innovative approach to...
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Unit Plan
TED Talks

Ted: Ted Ed: How Cars Went From Boxy to Curvy

For Students 9th - 10th
How does engineering relate to fashion? The big shift from boxy cars in the '80s to curvy cars in the '90s, explained by Vox. [4:00]
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Lesson Plan
Illustrative Mathematics

Illustrative Mathematics: S Id.4 Do You Fit in This Car?

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Students are tasked with solving a common issue for automobile manufacturers that require the students to use normal distribution as a model for data distribution. They will also use mean and standard deviation to figure out the problem....
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Whiteboard
ClassFlow

Class Flow: The History of Automobiles: Comprehension Strategies

For Teachers 6th - 9th Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] This lesson targets the history of the automobile in three major phases of its development.
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Website
The Henry Ford

The Henry Ford Showroom of Automotive History

For Students 3rd - 8th
Learn about automotive history as you browse the collection of The Henry Ford Museum. Enter the showroom to see a complete profile on some of the most important cars ever made, from the 1896 quadricycle to the 1986 Taurus.
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Article
Other

Llnl:this Hybrid Vehicle Uses Hydrogen

For Students 9th - 10th
Describes hybrid vehicles and their contributions to increasing the efficiency of automobiles. Explains the challenges faced by the design team and shows a nice schematic. From a 1995 article.
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Website
Other

Drowsy Driving and Automobile Crashes

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource explains the effects drowsiness has on operating a motor vehicle. Gives details on fatigue, risks, and it's biology.
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Article
Other

Econogics Co.: Are Electric Cars Coming Back?

For Students 9th - 10th
This site from the Econogics Co. provides an 1960 article from Saturday Evening Post, which touted electric cars even then. This is a long and interesting article (unfortunately no photos), which contrasts sharply with today's "future...
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Lesson Plan
HotChalk

Hot Chalk: Lesson Plans Page: Purchasing Your First Car

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This effective lesson plan has students searching the internet for an automobile which fits their specific criteria.
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Website
The Henry Ford

Henry Ford Museum: The 1896 Duryea: The First Production Automobile in America

For Students 9th - 10th
The Henry Ford Museum showcases the 1896 Duryea, one of America's first gasoline-powered automobiles.