TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Designing Drones
This instructional activity focuses on helicopters and drones, how they fly, how they are used in different ways that help people and the environment. Teams of students explore helicopter flight; and design, build, and test their own...
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: The Power of Graphene
In this engineering lesson, students learn about nanotechnology, graphene, and its electrical properties and applications. Teams of students test graphene to determine whether it is an electrical conductor or insulator, then develop...
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Telescoping Periscope
Working in teams of "engineers", students explore how a periscope works and is used. They design, build, and test a working periscope made from everyday materials that has adjustable mirrors and be able to telescope as well.
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Electric Messages: Then and Now
Lesson investigates electronic communication from the Morse Code system to text messaging. To learn about this, learners construct simple circuits, send messages to each other, and explore the history and impact of communication.
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Flashlights and Batteries
Learners work in teams to explore how a flashlight works. This activity examines the topics of batteries, electron flow, circuit systems, switches, and bulbs.
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Getting Your Bearings
Students learn about teamwork and problem solving in this lesson plan that focuses on friction and how ball bearings are used to reduce it.
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Give Me a Brake
Activity investigates the concept of how bicycle brakes use force and friction to stop or slow mechanical motion. Young scholars work in teams to devise a simple braking system while suggesting improvements to current bicycle brake design.
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Pulleys and Force
Learners work in teams to learn how pulleys and pulley systems impact everyday life. This activity explores the concept of force and shows how the use of pulleys can greatly reduce required force.
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Series and Parallel Circuits
The core of this lesson is simple circuits and the differences between parallel and series circuit design. Students perform experiments to test the differences between the two circuit designs using low voltage light bulbs.
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Simple Machines
The purpose of this lesson is to learn about the different types of simple machines and their uses. PDF (requires Adobe Reader) and RTF (requires Word or Notebook).
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Hand Biometrics Technology
Lesson probes how biometrics technologies have been used worldwide to address security and identification systems. After exploring different biometric techniques, students work in teams to find their own hand geometry biometrics, then...
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Infrared Investigations
Engineers use infrared technology to develop equipment and systems for a variety of industries. Teams of young scholars are challenged to test the limitations of infrared in a basic television remote control to conceive a way to point...
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Pipeline Challenge
Students become "engineers" as they learn how to develop pipeline systems for transportation. In this lesson, they work in teams to design, develop, and execute a pipeline plan to transport both a golf ball and a ping pong ball from one...
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: A Question of Balance
Students work in teams to fill jars with a product that is uniform in weight or count. Lesson investigates how manufacturing engineers use weight scales and measurement to develop systems that can create consistent products.
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Simple Kitchen Machines
Team instructional activity focuses on the different types of simple machines, how they work, and how they can be found in daily life.
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Irrigation Ideas
The focus of this civil engineering lesson is on designing, building, and testing an irrigation system made from everyday materials to move water from one place to another.
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Shake It Up With Seismographs
During this lesson, students learn how seismographs work and how technology has impacted the world by helping save lives from earthquakes. They will work in teams to design, test, and evaluate the results of their own seismographs, then...
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Temperature Tactics
Students practice the engineering design process as they explore devices used to measure changes in temperature. They work in teams to design, build, test, and evaluate their own temperature gauge made from everyday materials.
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Try Engineering: Tinkering With Tops
Lesson explores the history, design, and motion of spinning tops. Student teams design and build their own tops that can spin for at least 10 seconds within a circle 30 centimeters in diameter.
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Try Engineering: Pollution Patrol
Students will work in teams to design and construct outdoor air pollution detectors from everyday items. They will then test the designs for presence of pollutants in the air and communicate their results to the class.
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Try Engineering: Solar Structures
During this lesson, students will construct a passive solar house from everyday items then explore how the sun's energy is used to heat and cool it.
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Stop and Go
Lesson addresses how traffic is managed by the use of the traffic light. Student "engineers" work in teams to design a new traffic light system using new technology to meet the needs of society today.
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Chair Lift Challenge
Lesson investigates how engineers develop safe transportation systems to operate in a variety of climates and environments. Teams of students work together to construct a "chair lift" made from everyday materials as a test of this...
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Electric Switches
Lesson focuses on how switches control the flow of electricity. Students are posed with the challenge of designing and building a simple switch into an electric circuit.