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Activity
DiscoverE

Design a Flotation Device

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Save the soup! Scholars devise a flotation device using straws, balloons, foam, corks, and other objects. A can of soup must stay afloat for at least a minute with this device—your dinner might depend on it!
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Activity
DiscoverE

Design a Catapult

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Just this once, it's okay to throw things in class. Out of craft sticks and rubber bands, pupils build catapults to launch an object of choice. This can be a ping-pong ball, a marshmallow, or any other small item. As long as it hits the...
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Lesson Plan
eGFI

Design a Thermostat

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Using a thermostat is an eco-friendly way to control indoor climate. Young engineers practice building electric circuits by designing and constructing a thermostat. Plenty of background information, a vocabulary list, links to the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Simple Machines and Modern Day Engineering Analogies

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students apply the mechanical advantages and problem-solving capabilities of six types of simple machines (wedge, wheel and axle, lever, inclined plane, screw, pulley) as they discuss modern structures in the spirit of the engineers and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Civil Engineering: Designing Bridges

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Students examine the bridges of the United States. They discuss the concept of balance. They draw their own design of a suspension bridge.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

What Is Engineering Design

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students investigate the concepts related to the practice of designing and building large scale buildings. They conduct research using the internet and other resources in order to apply mathematics and architectural design principals in...
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Lesson Plan
1
1
Teach Engineering

Exploring the Forces of Tension

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Let the resource stretch the minds of your young scientists with a lesson about tensile strength and stiffness of materials. Groups consider how easily materials stretch and relate this property to engineering design.
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Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Shipping For Survival

For Teachers 3rd - 12th
Students explore package engineering and investigate design.  In this shipping instructional activity students are given a flower and are to come up with a packaging that will allow the flower to get to its destination as fresh as...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Toothpick Sculpture

For Teachers K - 5th
You'll be surprized at how much engineering, design, and creativity can go into a toothpick and a marshmallow. Learners make toothpick sculptures where they construct three-dimentional models by sticking marshmallows and toothpicks...
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Activity
Teach Engineering

Straw Bridges

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Pairs work as engineering teams to design and build model bridges from drinking straws and tape. In this third segment in a series of 10, teams compete in an attempt to build the strongest bridge. To help with the design, the groups...
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Activity
Teach Engineering

Model Heart Valves

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Small groups use the knowledge learned about the heart to design and build a prototype of an artificial heart valve. The teams demonstrate the functionality of their valve. They are also responsible for creating a pamphlet that describes...
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Lesson Plan
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Adaptive Device Design

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
After reading about how engineering has made adaptive devices possible for people with disabilities, pupils work in groups to discuss different devices to determine whether or not they are adaptive. They also disassemble a pair of...
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Activity
1
1
Teach Engineering

Better By Design

For Teachers 5th - 7th Standards
Which modification is the best? Using the scientific method, pairs determine the effects of each control surface on the distance of a glider's flight. The activity, section 16 in a 22-part unit on aviation, allows pupils to gain a better...
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Lesson Plan
Teach Engineering

Design Step 3: Brainstorm Possible Solutions

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Our young scientists have now specifically identified a problem, and this step helps them think of possible solutions. An outline, including guidelines, for brainstorming helps scholars stay on the right path. The resource includes...
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Lesson Plan
PHET

Science and Engineering Conference

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Young scientists present their experimental designs from the previous experiment. The ninth lesson plan in the series outlines what learners should present, what class discussions should happen, and the solution NASA came up with for the...
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Lesson Plan
Dick Blick

ArtStraw Architecture

For Teachers 5th - 12th
While architects and engineers don't often build with plastic straws and foam board, the same principles still apply. Challenging both the creativity and critical thinking of learners, this engaging design project is perfect...
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Unit Plan
Discovery Education

STEM Camp—Urban Infrastructure

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Build a bridge to learning in a STEM-aligned unit about urban infrastructure. Young engineers explore the many aspects of civil planning and design in a five-day unit. Content includes the challenging aspects of balancing building with...
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Activity
DiscoverE

Tape Dispenser Challenge

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Help your class get out of a sticky situation! Future engineers explore existing tape dispensers and then design a new system for dispensing tape. To put these systems to the test, they build and evaluate prototypes of their designs.
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Lesson Plan
DiscoverE

Textbook Support Challenge

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Textbooks are heavier than a sheet of paper, so how can paper hold up a textbook? Young engineers create a structure out of paper that can support a textbook. To add another wrinkle, they must stay within budget and time constraints.
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App
Autodesk

AutoCAD 360

For Students 9th - Higher Ed
Take your drafting and design projects on the go with with this mobile computer-aided design program. Allowing users to view, edit, and share their work with others, this is a great resource for developing the technical drawing...
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Lesson Plan
Berkeley Engineering and Mentors

Marshmallow Catapaults

For Teachers 4th - 10th
After a brief lecture on levers, torque, projectiles, and the five-step engineering design cycle, young physical science learners or engineers build catapults out of craft sticks. This is an open-ended exploration of what works and what...
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Activity
DiscoverE

Air Train

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Train your pupils to be master engineers. Young learners design a train that travels along a fishing line. The train needs to safely carry pennies as passengers without falling out.
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Activity
DiscoverE

Marble Run

For Teachers 3rd - 12th Standards
It's time to slow your roll! Can your class create a track that allows a marble to roll as slowly as possible? Teams of science scholars collaborate to design, build, and test their tubes while learning about gravity and friction.
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Activity
DiscoverE

Safe Landing

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Watch out below! Future engineers come up with methods to ensure that a ball in a cup stays in the cup even after dropped from a given height. It might be prudent to include some kind of shock absorber in the cup. Parachutes are a good...

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