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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Above Ground Storage Tank Design Project

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this culminating activity, student groups act as engineering design teams to come up with improved storage tank designs to make them less vulnerable to uplift, displacement and buckling in storm conditions.
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Lesson Plan
American Chemical Society

Middle School Chemistry: Chemical Reactions & Engineering Design

For Teachers 9th - 10th
This lesson begins with a story about rescuing reptile eggs from a new construction site. Using the story as motivation, students are presented with an engineering design challenge: Build a portable device which can warm, support, and...
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Paper Drop Design Competition

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Using paper, paper clips and tape, student teams design flying devices to (1) stay in the air as long as possible and (2) land as close as possible to a given target. Student teams will use the engineering design process to guide them...
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Unit Plan
REMC Association of Michigan

Remc Association of Michigan: 21 Things4 Students: 15. Design Thinking

For Students 3rd - 8th
Design Thinking is a process for designing something to solve a problem. It shares a lot of similarities to the Engineering Design Process you might learn in a STEM class and the Scientific Method you learn in science. However, it tends...
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Lesson Plan
Other

The Design Museum: Can You Redesign an Object to Make It Easier to Use?

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Grant Douglas has cerebral palsy and needs assistance to eat. While he was sitting at home being fed cornflakes by his mum, the phone rang. She answered it and as she talked, Grant could see his cornflakes getting soggier and soggier....
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Biodomes Engineering Design Project: Lessons 2 6

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
In this lesson students learn about biodomesand how engineers use them. Students then create their own biodomes.
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Activity
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Activity: Engineering Design Challenge

For Students 5th
From the San Francisco 49er's Museum Education Program which promotes STEAM projects, students construct an irrigation system for the football field. The concept of engineer design is explored.
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Watch Out for the Blind Spots

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this service-learning engineering project, students follow the steps of the engineering design process to design a hearing testing device. More specifically, they design a prototype machine that can be used to test the peripheral...
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Activity
Science Buddies

Science Buddies: Hull Design and Hydrodynamics

For Students 9th - 10th
Experiment with designs of different hulls for boats to see which hulls are suited for which purpose. The Science Buddies project ideas are set up consistently beginning with an abstract, objective, and introduction, followed by a...
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Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Requirements & Constraints: Making Model Parking Garages

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
The difference between an architect and an engineer is sometimes confusing because their roles in building design can be similar. Students experience a bit of both professions by following a set of requirements and meeting given...
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Engineer a Coin Sorter

For Teachers 5th - 7th
Students learn about the engineering design process and how it is used to engineer products for everyday use. Students individually brainstorm solutions for sorting coins and draw at least two design ideas. They work in small groups to...
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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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Unit Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Intro to Engineering

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students are introduced to the basic principles behind engineering and the types of engineering while learning about a popular topic - the Olympics. The involvement of engineering in modern sports is amazing and pervasive. Students learn...
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Fancy Feet

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students use the engineering design process to solve a real-world problem - shoe engineering! Working in small teams, students design, build and test a pair of wearable platform or high-heeled shoes, taking into consideration the stress...
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Engineering Pop Ups

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students learn about applied forces as they create pop-up-books - the art of paper engineering. They also learn the basic steps of the engineering design process.
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Sounds All Around

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students follow the steps of the engineering design process to create their own ear trumpet devices (used before modern-day hearing aids), including testing them with a set of reproducible sounds. They learn to recognize different...
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Wristwatch Design for the Visually Impaired

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students are given a fictional client statement and required to follow the steps of the engineering design process to design a new wristwatch face for a visually impaired student at their school.
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Obi Wan Adobe: Engineering for Strength

For Teachers 3rd - 6th
Students conduct an experiment to determine how varying the composition of a construction material affects its strength. They make several adobe bricks with differing percentages of sand, soil, fibrous material and water. They test the...
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Lesson Plan
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Be "Cool" With Popsicle Engineering

For Teachers K - 1st
Beginning kindergarteners are introduced to science and engineering concepts through questions such as "What is a Scientist?" and "What is an Engineer?", and go on to compare and contrast the two. They are introduced to five steps of the...
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Viking Ship Design Challenge

For Teachers 6th - 8th
In this design challenge, students learn about the Vikings from an engineering point-of-view. While investigating the history and anatomy of Viking ships, they learn how engineering solutions are shaped by the surrounding environment and...
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Designing a Robotic Surgical Device

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Student teams create laparoscopic surgical robots designed to reduce the invasiveness of diagnosing endometriosis and investigate how the disease forms and spreads. Using a synthetic abdominal cavity simulator, students test and iterate...
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Build Your Own Insect Trap

For Teachers 9th - 10th
In this hands-on activity students design a trap to catch a fictional insect. They must build the trap based on things they learn about the insect.
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Activity
TeachEngineering

Teach Engineering: Broken Bones

For Teachers 9th - 10th
The purpose of this activity is to introduce students to the concept of the engineering design process and to teach them how to apply it. In "Broken Bones," students will explore the steps of the engineering design process. They will...
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Lesson Plan
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College

Serc: Design a Paper Car: Exploring the Scientific Method

For Teachers 9th - 10th
An engineering design project used to help students practice teamwork and to give them an opportunity to experience engineering practices, such as teamwork and problem-solving.