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Squishy Circuits

squishy circuitIn this fun activity developed by St. Thomas University engineering associate professor AnnMarie Thomas, students of all ages learn the basic principles of electricity by fashioning circuits from play dough, batteries, and LEDs. No soldering necessary!

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Pipe-Cleaner Towers

pipe cleanersIn this short, fun activity for students in grades 2 to 12, teams learn about the engineering design process, including constraints on time and materials, by building the tallest free-standing tower out of pipe-cleaners.

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Think Like a Bird!

bird at nestStudents in grades 2 to 4 learn about wildlife habitats, environmental engineering, and the complexities of nest construction by attempting to design and build a nest themselves.

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Engineering for the Three Little Pigs

Three Little Pigs laying bricksStudents learn about the importance of using the right materials for the job by building three different sand castles and testing them for strength and resistance to weathering. They then discuss how the buildings are different and what engineers need to think about when using rocks, soils, and minerals for construction.

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What Are Gears?

education appIn this activity, students in grades 4 to 8 use LEGO spur gears to learn about different types of gears and how they are used in many engineering devices, including bicycles, to change the speed, torque, and direction of a power source.

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Ball Bounce Experiment

soccer ball jugglingIn this activity, elementary students in grades 3 to 5 learn about reverse engineering and how to collect and represent data graphically by investigating different balls and their abilities to bounce.

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Simple Musical Instruments

Cardboard guitarPairs of students in grades 3 – 5 investigate sound frequencies and acoustic engineering by creating four different instruments – a shoebox guitar, water-glass xylophone, straw panpipe, and soda bottle organ.

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Give Me a Brake!

Bike brakeIn this activity, students in grades 3 to 6 learn about force and friction by examining how basic rim bicycle brakes work and discussing the advantages of various designs. They then use low cost materials to devise a simple braking system, suggest improvements to current bicycle brake designs, and present their recommended changes to the class.

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Just a Minute!

Running clockIn this quick, fun activity, pairs of students in grades 2 – 8 will learn about industrial engineering and measurement by estimating how many times a partner can complete a task in one minute, then checking the estimate against actual performance. Students then can discuss ways to improve their performance and try again.

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