Teach Engineering
Bone Density Challenge Introduction
Can you use X-rays to measure bone mineral density? This is the essential question that learners must answer in the first installment of a seven-part series. They brainstorm ideas about necessary background information and what they...
Teach Engineering
Magnetic Materials
The design challenge: develop a method to separate steel from aluminum. The first lesson plan in an eight-part series introduces the class to the grand challenge of ciming up with a method to streamline a sorting process at a recycling...
Teach Engineering
Investigating Torque
Torque--a teachable moment? Here's a lesson on torque (or moment) and variables that include size, reinforcement, structural bracing, and material that affect torque.
Curated OER
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
Eleven slides are used in this PowerPoint to present how nuclear magnetic resonance works and to give learners an opportunity to interpret examples of nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. Ample information is provided, so this is a...
Curated OER
Research Using Technology
Pupils receive an index card, and they write down jobs and hobbies that interest them. Then, they get together in groups and are assigned the task of researching the jobs and hobbies that are of the most interest to the entire group....
Curated OER
Scouting Civil War Sites
Students evaluate websites after gathering information from various search engines. In this Civil War activity, students browse the web and find strategies for rating websites. Students choose the best sites in their opinion and defend...
Teach Engineering
Capturing the Sun's Warmth
Passive solar heating is a technology that's been in use for thousands of years. Here, elementary schoolers are exposed to this type of heating, the materials that are used in passive solar heating, and they study how engineers design...
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
Exploring at the Nanoscale
Nano-nano! Nanotechnology can seem like it's from another planet! After learning about this tiny technology, collaborative groups experiment with how smaller particles affect chemical reactions. They do this by immersing a whole and a...
Curated OER
Wright Again: 100 Years of Flight
Aspiring aeronautical engineers demonstrate different forces as they construct and test paper airplanes. This lesson plan links you to a website that models the most effective paper airplane design, an animation describing the forces...
Curated OER
WWW, Part 2: The URL and Search Engines
Students examine the process for the creation of a home page and the use of HTML or Hypertext Markup Language. the lesson was originally written for librarians with little or no net experiences.
Texas State Energy Conservation Office
Investigation: Acceleration
Take a look at acceleration within the context of automotive technology. They vary the mass on a toy car and run it down a ramp, exploring Newton's second law of motion. Though this is a classic lab activity, you will appreciate the...
Curated OER
Newspaper Tower
Students design and construct a tower out of newspaper using a limited supply of newspaper, tape, and scissors. After completing their designs, they identify which designs can withstand the self-weight of the newspaper tower as well as...
Curated OER
Cell Wall Recipe: A Lesson on Biofuels
Biotech engineers discover that changes in the DNA code for cell wall formation can help create crops better suited for biofuel production. They extract DNA from wheat germ. They decode paper strips with codes and relate the activity to...
Curated OER
Saving Sponge Bob Square Pants
Students apply the use of technology to real life scenarios. In this technology lesson, students discuss and identify a method to move sponge bob from one location to the next, without touching the floor. They share the same landmark and...
Curated OER
All About Computers
Students discover facts about computers. In this technology lesson, students find out how to locate information on the Internet. Students choose a topic to research and search several sites for information.
NASA
The X-1 Paper Glider Kit
After reading an interesting account of how the X-1 aircraft was designed, built, and utilized, young engineers try their hand at constructing a paper glider version of the airplane. They cut out the plane out of a nicely designed...
National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network
Noodling Around: Powers of Ten
How many noodles long is your classroom? Find out when engineers of all ages explore measurement through the use of pool noodles. With the noodles pre-cut to certain metric lengths, the activities could be used to introduce the metric...
Curated OER
The Ups and Downs of Technology
Students create a visual timeline of skyscrapers built in the past 20 years. In this physical science lesson, students research important facts about the building. They discuss the challenges architects face when building skyscrapers.
Curated OER
How Can We Do Research on the Internet?
Students demonstrate how to use the Internet to research historical individuals. In this technology lesson, students use the "Internet Coach" CD-ROM to identify how to gather information on the Internet. Students choose an important...
Curated OER
Online Scavenger Hunt
Students participate in an online scavenger hunt to answer questions posed by the teacher. In this Internet search lesson, students are given specific questions and they have to use the Internet to locate the answers. There are links...
Curated OER
My Wet Robot
Young scholars design an underwater vehicle. In this engineering lesson, students will design an underwater robot that includes specific systems for it to function properly. Each group will present their prototype to the class.
Curated OER
Many Paths
Students explore the composition and practical application of parallel circuitry, compared to series circuitry. They design and build parallel circuits and investigate their characteristics, and apply Ohm's law. They recognize that...
Teach Engineering
Alloy the Way to Mars
Future engineers test different alloys to determine the specific strength of each one. Based on the results, they make a recommendation to NASA on which alloy to use on engines for spacecraft.
Perkins School for the Blind
Identifying and Using Tools
How can you teach a person about technology and engineering if he has never been exposed to the tools and devices used to create and construct? Learners with visual impairments examine a number of common tools, such as hammers, wrenches,...