Posted on November 9th, 2012 by Mary Lord
In this activity, teams of students in grades 3 to 12 explore how engineers work to solve such societal problems as moving goods, materials, and people by designing and building a conveyor system out of everyday materials than can transport pieces of candy 4 feet, including a 90-degree turn.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Grades K-5 | Comments Off on Activity: Conveyor Engineering
Tags: baggage, conveyor, conveyor belt, Engineering, luggage, Manufacturing Engineering, suitcase, Systems Engineering, traffic, Transportation
Posted on July 13th, 2012 by Mary Lord
In this lesson, students in grades 3 to 12 explore how engineers incorporate the latest materials and manufacturing techniques to improve the performance of sports equipment by constructing a functional racquet out of everyday materials that can volley against another team’s racquet at least six times.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Grades K-5 | Comments Off on Lesson: Tennis, Anyone?
Tags: Class Activities, Design, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Grades K-5, Olympics, Sports, Sports Engineering, tennis
Posted on June 19th, 2012 by Mary Lord
In this short fun activity, students of all ages learn about rocket stability by constructing and flying small “indoor” paper rockets, then analyzing flight data and interpreting the results.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Grades K-5 | 3 Comments »
Tags: Aerodynamics, Aeronautics, Aerospace, Aerospace Engineering, aerospace lessons, inquiry, Mathematics, NASA, rocket, rocket stability, straw rocket
Posted on January 18th, 2012 by Mary Lord
In this lesson, pairs of students in grades 4 to 7 will learn about the engineering design process and electrical circuits by building a dance pad that sounds a buzzer or flashes a light when stepped on.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, Grades K-5, Lesson Plans | 2 Comments »
Tags: circuits, Design Squad, Design Squad Nation, Electrical, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Design, Engineering Design Process, Fun & Games, games
Posted on December 11th, 2011 by Mary Lord
In this activity, teams of kids in grades 4-7 follow the engineering design process to invent a holder for six cans that’s animal-safe, sturdy, convenient, and easy to carry. They learn why discarded plastic rings can be a problem for wildlife and brainstorm animal-friendly ways to package six cans. They then build, test, and redesign their system and discuss what happened.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, Grades K-5, Lesson Plans | 1 Comment »
Tags: Class Activities, design process, Design Squad Nation, Environmental Engineering, environmental protection, Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, plastic rings, six pack, wildlife
Posted on December 4th, 2011 by Mary Lord
In this activity, students in grades 4 – 12 will do math like a computer. They will learn the basics of binary number systems by writing and then counting on their hands, and use their knowledge to decode numbers and letters.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Grades 9-12, Grades K-5, Grades K-5, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Lesson: Bits & Binary
Tags: binary number systems, Class Activities, code, Computer Engineering, Computer Programming, Computer Science, digital, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Grades K-5, Lesson Plan
Posted on November 13th, 2011 by Mary Lord
In this activity, teams of students in grades 3-12 explore the engineering design process by building model canoes from everyday materials and testing their design in a basin. The canoes must be able to float for three minutes and, for older students, support a load. Students then evaluate the effectiveness of their canoes and those of other teams, and present their findings to the class.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Grades 9-12, Grades K-5, Grades K-5, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Lesson: Can-Do Canoe
Tags: boat, canoe, Class Activities, Design, Lesson Plan, Lesson Plans, Native American
Posted on November 6th, 2011 by Mary Lord
In this game, teams of students in grades 3 – 8 are introduced to the economics and environmental constraints of mining by extracting “ore” (chocolate chips) from purchased “property” (cookies). They will learn that mining requires investment before resources can be extracted, and that there are costs associated with permits, environmental monitoring, and reclamation.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, Grades K-5, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Lesson: Cookie Mining
Tags: cookies, earth sciences, minerals, Mining, mining engineering, ore, reclamation, women in mining
Posted on October 29th, 2011 by Mary Lord
In this activity, students in grades 5 – 7 learn how motion capture technology (mo-cap) enables computer animators to create realistic effects. They learn the importance of center of gravity in animation and how to use the concept in writing an action scene.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, Grades K-5, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Lesson: That (Motion) Captures It!
Tags: action, Avatar, computer animation, Computer Engineering, film engineering, literacy, mo-cap, motion capture technology, movie technology, Puss 'N Boots, writing