Posted on March 13th, 2015 by Mary Lord
Teams of students in grades 6 to 8 follow the engineering design process to develop and build a mechanical arm that can lift and move an empty 12-ounce soda can using hydraulics for power. One group designs and builds the grasping hand, another team the lifting arm, and a third team the rotation base. The three groups must work to communicate effectively through written and verbal communication and sketches.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 6-8, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Hydraulic Arm Challenge
Posted on February 22nd, 2015 by Mary Lord
In this hands-on activity, teams of students in grades 3 to 12 learn how engineers design tire treads to increase safety and reliability, then follow the design process to construct, test, and evaluate treads sculpted from clay that will be safe when driving in heavy rain.
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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 How the Rubber Meets the Road
Tags: Automotive engineering, car, Class Activities, Engineering Design, Lesson Plan, safety, tire, Transportation, tread
Posted on February 4th, 2015 by Mary Lord
Apply by February 12, 2015 to attend the Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program, a free, seven-week course of intensive instruction for high school sophomores and juniors in robotics, Web design, and mobile app development. The program also includes mentoring, demos, field trips, and workshops led by the computer industry’s top female entrepreneurs and engineers.
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Filed under: Grades 9-12, K-12 Outreach Programs, Special Features | Comments Off on Girls Who Code Summer Program
Tags: Computer Programming, Computer Science, free summer learning, Girls Who Code, Programs for Girls, summer program
Posted on December 30th, 2014 by Mary Lord
In this activity, high school juniors and seniors learn such core chemistry concepts as reaction rates and thermodynamics by making and demonstrating their own Harry Potter-style “magic wands” (sparklers). The lab, which also can serve as a fun Advanced Placement course review, concludes with a class duel between wands of two different chemical compositions.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 9-12, Grades 9-12, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Wizardly Wands
Tags: Advanced Placement, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Class Activities, Energy, Grades 9-12, Harry Potter, Next Generation Science Standards, reaction rates, sparklers, STEM education, stochiometry, wand
Posted on December 11th, 2014 by Mary Lord
In 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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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Grades K-5, Grades K-5, Lesson Plans, Web Resources | 1 Comment »
Tags: afterschool activities, circuits, Class Activities, Electrical Engineering, electricity, Energy, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Grades K-5, LEDs, lights, Squishy Circuits, St. Thomas University, STEM education
Posted on September 22nd, 2014 by Mary Lord
In 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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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Grades K-5, K-12 Outreach Programs | Comments Off on Pipe-Cleaner Towers
Tags: build, Building Design, Civil Engineering, Class Activities, Design, design contest, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Grades K-5, North Carolina State University, pipe cleaner challenge, pipe cleaners, STEM education, Structural Engineering, tower
Posted on September 18th, 2014 by Mary Lord
Students 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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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades K-5, Grades K-5, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Think Like a Bird!
Tags: Biology, birds, Class Activities, construction, Design, ecology, Environmental Engineering, Grades K-5, Great Sand Dunes National Park, habitat, Lesson Plan, material properties, National Park Service, nest, wilderness, wildlife
Posted on September 17th, 2014 by Mary Lord
In this activity, students in grades 7 to 9 will learn how to take a bearing with a compass and find an object in their classroom.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 6-8, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Where’s Your Teacher?
Tags: bearing, Class Activities, compass, directions, Engineering, estimation, GPS, Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, maps, Mathematics, navigation, wilderness
Posted on September 17th, 2014 by Mary Lord
Middle school students learn about the engineering design process by building a model of an innovative human shelter inspired and informed by an animal habitat. They then present their work, explaining what attribute of the animal structure influenced their design.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 6-8, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Live Like an Animal
Tags: bio-inspired design, Biomimicry, building, Civil Engineering, Class Activities, Education Policy, Environmental science, Grades 6-8, habitat, Lesson Plans, shelter
