University at Buffalo
University at Buffalo: Mceer: Earthquake Engineering to Extreme Events
Information from the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research guided toward enhancing the ability of communities to survive and rebuild after an earthquake. Includes current news and conferences, and information about...
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Critical Load
This lesson looks at critical load, the amount of weight a structure can hold beyond which it would collapse. Student teams will design and test a structure using playing cards that has to meet specific criteria. Afterwards, they...
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Build a Big Wheel
Students learn about the engineering design process as they design, build, test, and evaluate a big wheel or Ferris wheel made with pasta, glue, and teabags. The objective of the lesson is to explore how big wheels have been designed...
University of Virginia
University of Virgina: Structural Behavior and Design Approaches
From the Introduction to Structural Design web site. A page of well-written lecture notes on the various structural qualities of building materials. A comparison is made of the strength, stiffness, stability and ductility of materials,...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Balsa Towers
Students will build their own towers using some of the techniques they have learned. The materials will consist of balsa wood and glue. General guidelines are provided, but the students will have a lot of freedom with their design to...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: The Next Dimension
The purpose of this lesson is to teach learners about the three dimensional Cartesian coordinate system. It is important for structural engineers to be confident graphing in 3D in order to be able to describe locations in space to fellow...
PBS
Pbs: Building Big: Skyscrapers
Information about the basics of skyscrapers, with profiles of nine big-building wonders. Extras include a loads lab, which illustrates how and why skyscrapers stand up and keep standing up, and interviews with builders, engineers, and...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Leaning Tower of Pasta
Using spaghetti and marshmallows, students experiment with different structures to determine which ones are able to handle the greatest amount of load. Their experiments help them to further understand the effects that compression and...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: The Squeeze Is On
Students will learn about the force of compression and how it acts on structural components through a hands-on group project. Using everyday products such as paper, toothpicks, and tape they will construct a structure that will support...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Earthquake in the Classroom
Students will learn how engineers construct buildings to withstand damage from earthquakes by building their own structure with toothpicks and marshmallows. Students will test how earthquake-proof their buildings are by testing them on...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Strong as the Weakest Link
To introduce the two types of stress that materials undergo - compression and tension - students examine compressive and tensile forces and learn about bridges and skyscrapers. They construct their own building structure using...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Tower Investigation and the Egg
Towers have been a part of developed society for centuries. Towers serve a variety of purposes, from lookouts to cellular towers. In this activity student groups will build three types of towers, engineering them to hold an egg one foot...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Build It Better!
Students learn about tornados and how engineers design structures to better withstand them. Students then design and draw a house that will better withstand a tornado. Students also learn about the Fujita Tornado Damage Score.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Simple Machines and Modern Day Engineering Analogies
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...
Other
University of Cincinnati: Dna Structure and Function
This site explores the history and the science of DNA. Content also examines and considers the possibilities of genetic engineering and mutation.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Newspaper Tower
Students will be challenged to design and construct a tower out of newspaper. They will have limited supplies including newspaper, tape, and scissors since engineers are often restricted by economic reasons as to how much material they...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Forces on the Human Molecule
Students will conduct several simple lab activities to learn about the five fundamental load types that can act on structures: tension, compression, shear, bending, and torsion. In this activity, students will play the role of molecules...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Muscles, Muscles Everywhere
This activity helps students learn about the three different types of muscles and how outer space affects astronauts' muscles. They will discover how important it is for astronauts to get adequate exercise both on Earth and in outer...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Testing Fundamental Loads
Students will conduct several simple lab activities to learn about the five fundamental load types that can act on structures: tension, compression, shear, bending, and torsion. In this activity, students break foam insulation blocks by...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Designing Bridges
Students learn about the types of possible loads, how to calculate ultimate load combinations, and investigate the different sizes for the beams (girders) and columns (piers) of simple bridge design. Students learn the steps that...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Tsunami Attack!
Learners learn about tsunamis, discovering what causes them and what makes them so dangerous. They learn that engineers design detection and warning equipment, as well as structures that that can survive the strong wave forces. In a...
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Can You Copperplate?
Chemical engineering activity investigates the processes of chemical plating and electroplating. Teams of students work together to devise a chemical system for plating metal objects with copper, then test and evaluate their findings and...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Compare Human Made Objects With Natural Objects
In small groups, students will experiment and observe the similarities and differences between human-made objects and nature. The students will compare the function and structure of hollow bones with drinking straws, bird beaks, tool...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Planting Thoughts
Students gain an understanding of the parts of a plant, plant types and how they produce their own food from sunlight through photosynthesis. They also learn about transpiration, the process by which plants release moisture to the...