Fourth-Grade Innovators
Posted on March 1st, 2010 by ASEE
Fourth grade students in Glen Rock, New Jersey’s four elementary schools recently studied adhesive bandages from a product-design point of view — how they were created to meet a need. The students were then challenged to design a technology that would improve their teachers’ lives. One group came up with a scale-model classroom with sliding dividers so teachers could utilize different parts of the room.
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Students grades 5-12 assume the role of civil engineers in constructing a model suspension bridge. They learn about other types of spans — including arch, girder, truss, and cantilever — and of the careful balance of compression and tension required in bridge building. 
On the Women in Engineering page of the online Women at Work Museum, students can read the profiles of women involved in engineering and technology, from the earliest computer programmers to inventors, bridge builders, professors, entrepreneurs, and current college students. The page also carries information about engineering disciplines and earnings, as well as discussions from the Ask an Engineer — Engineer Girl! page.
Built for the West Point Bridge Design 2010 Contest, the West Point Bridge Designer 2010 software also can be used and distributed for educational uses. This software provides tools to model, test, and optimize a steel highway bridge, based on realistic specifications, constraints, and performance criteria. It introduces students to engineering through an authentic, hands-on design experience. This software provides tools to model, test, and optimize a steel highway bridge, based on realistic specifications, constraints, and performance criteria. It introduces students to engineering through an authentic, hands-on design experience. 
When high school students graduate, they should be ready to enter college or the workforce, but too few will have the skills and knowledge necessary to make those transitions. A recent report commissioned by the National High School Center that found that the problems begin before pupils enter high school. By the eighth grade, most students — especially low-income and minority students — are failing to meet targets intended to make them university- or career-ready by 12th grade. 
A Bridge-Building Curriculum Unit from the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute. Level: grades 5-8.This curriculum unit, “Building Model Bridges Following the Engineering Process,” by Joe Lewis,” introduces students to the different types of bridges and engineering principles and assists teachers with the planning of a bridge building contest. In addition to background information, this unit includes an evaluative tool and lesson plans.
Music is the one thing that all students love. But there’s also a big and growing technical element to music that will also likely pique their interest — and possibly give them new career options. That’s why computers and technology have become an important part of music and band classes at Arizona’s Pima School District.
SciGirl is a new TV show and 
