Posted on March 10th, 2017 by Mary Lord
Students in upper elementary/early middle school follow the engineering design process to brainstorm and build prototype sneakers from a variety of materials to meet such design requirements as good traction or deep cushioning. They learn how the sole provides support, cushioning, and traction. There also may be some fashion-based functions, including cool colors or added height.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades K-5 | 2 Comments »
Tags: 3-D modeling, athletic, Biomedical Engineering, Class Activities, computer-assisted design, engineering design proces, Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, manufacturing, shoe design, sneaker, Sports
Posted on February 16th, 2017 by Mary Lord
No two snowflakes are alike, right? We know this thanks to a Jericho, Vermont, farm boy and citizen engineer named Wilson A. Bentley, who adapted a microscope to a camera and spent 40 years capturing thousands of unique images.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Special Features | Comments Off on Snowflake Chronicler
Tags: Environmental Engineering, Environmental science, Science of Snow, Smithsonian, snowflake, University of Utah, Web Resources, William Snowflake Bentley
Posted on February 16th, 2017 by Mary Lord
Middle school students learn that ordinary people like themselves can make meaningful contributions to science by reviewing examples of citizen science projects on Zooniverse, an interactive website. They then form “engineering teams” to brainstorm projects for their own community and design conceptual interactive websites that could organize and support them.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 6-8, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Citizen Science
Tags: Citizen Science, Class Activities, data analysis, environment, Grades 6-8, Lesson Plan, Website
Posted on February 13th, 2017 by Mary Lord
Every day, millions of ordinary people young and old help advance knowledge in fields as diverse as astronomy and zoology. These “citizen” scientists and engineers record bird sightings and rainfall amounts, classify stars, monitor lead in local tap water, count frogs, and even discover comets! Here’s a sampling of projects. Where will you or your students volunteer?
Some projects spur new legislation. Others inspire community involvement and a lifelong interest in STEM.
Here’s a sampling of projects. Where will you or your students dive in?
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Grades K-5, Special Features, Web Resources | Comments Off on Join a Citizen STEM Project!
Posted on February 3rd, 2017 by Mary Lord
Want to engage your students while helping scientists get the “big picture” on what’s happening to bird populations worldwide? Grab some binoculars and join the annual Great Backyard Bird Count, which takes place February 17-20, 2017.
One of the oldest and biggest citizen-science projects is the annual Great Backyard Bird Count, held this year from February 17 to 20
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Grades K-5, K-12 Outreach Programs, Special Features, Web Resources | Comments Off on STEM Takes Wing!
Tags: Citizen Science, Class Activities, cornell ornithology lab, Curriculum, Events, Great Backyard Bird Count, national audubon society, STEM education
Posted on December 12th, 2016 by Mary Lord
In this lesson, high school students learn the value of writing and art in science and engineering by designing visual diagrams to communicate the results of thermal conductivity (heat flow) experiments they have conducted to anyone with little background on the subject. The principles of visual design include contrast, alignment, repetition, and proximity, and involve such elements as the use of lines, color, texture, shape, size, value, and space.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 9-12, Grades 9-12, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Visualize STEM
Tags: Art, Class Activities, diagram, experiment, Grades 9-12, graphic design, heat flow, Presentations, STEAM, Technical Communications, thermal imaging, writing
Posted on November 23rd, 2016 by Mary Lord
In this three-part activity, students in grades 5 to 7 act as agricultural engineers, learning about and testing the effectiveness of a sustainable pest-control technique that uses organic waste and sunlight rather than toxic chemicals to reduce weeds.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Soil Biosolarization: Sustainable Weed Killer
Tags: Agricultural Engineering, biosolarization, Class Activities, Environmental science, farming, Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, growing, soil, sustainable agriculture
Posted on October 23rd, 2016 by Mary Lord
Students in grades 3 – 5 learn how alphanumeric symbols can be encoded for many fun purposes. In the first of two sessions, they learn about codes by making their own with a limited number of symbols. They then attempt to break each other’s codes and discover the relationship among encryption, decryption, and shared keys.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades K-5, Grades K-5, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on All About Code
Tags: Class Activities, code, coding, computation, computer, Computer Engineering, Cybersecurity, data privacy, encryption, Grades K-5, IEEE, Lesson Plan, password
Posted on October 5th, 2016 by Mary Lord
The Department of Homeland Security designates October as National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Its “Stop, Think, Connect” toolkit includes materials for various audiences, including students and educators, as well as guides to social media, phishing, and other topics.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Grades K-5, K-12 Outreach Programs, Special Features, Web Resources | Comments Off on No Phishing! Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2016
Tags: Air Force, computer hackers, Curriculum, Cybersecurity, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Grades K-5, homeland security, Resources for Teachers, Teacher Resources, Web Resources