In this lesson, students in grades 3 – 12 will explore the engineering design process by building a device that can launch a ping-pong ball high enough for them to catch it.

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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 | 1 Comment »

Tags: baseball, Design Squad, Energy, Engineering Design, force, levers, motion, NGSS aligned, Physics, simple machines

Understanding how friction works helps engineers design moving objects so they can be controlled. In this activity, students in grades 7 – 9 gain first-hand experience on how friction affects motion by building a hovercraft that uses air from a balloon to levitate a craft made from a compact disc (CD).

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Tags: Class Activities, friction, hovercraft, Lesson Plan, Physics

These references and resources were initially developed for presentations at the Central PA STEM Conference and the 2011 ASEE K12 Workshop, which included a presentation focused on the green-roof lesson on the eGFI website.

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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, Web Resources | Comments Off on Green Roof Resources

Tags: Class Activities, Curriculum, Environmental Engineering, Environmental science, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Grades K-5, green roof, Lesson Plan, Lesson Plans, Science

In this lesson, teams of students in grades 6 to 12 will explore the engineering design process by modifying a paper cup to carry a marble down a zip line and drop it precisely on a target. They will learn to brainstorm, test, evaluate, and redesign their devices to improve accuracy and effectiveness of the remote-release mechanism.

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Filed under: Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Lesson Plans | 2 Comments »

Tags: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Lesson Plan, Mechanical engineering, Physics, zip line

Student teams in grades 9-11 gain a better understanding of heat transfer and engineering by designing and building solar water-heating devices that mimic those used in residences. Once the model devices are constructed, students perform efficiency calculations and compare designs.

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Tags: Energy and Environmental Technology, Environmental Engineering, Environmental science, Grades 9-12, Green, Green Technology, Lesson Plans, Solar Energy, Solar Engineering

In this activity, teams of students 8 – 18 learn about engineering design by constructing rubber-band-powered cars from everyday materials that can travel in a straight line for a distance of at least 3 meters within a 1 meter wide track. They test their rubber-band racers, evaluate their results, and present to the class.

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Filed under: Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, Lesson Plans | 2 Comments »

Tags: Class Activities, force, Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, Lesson Plan, Lesson Plans, motion, Physics, propulsion, rubber band racers

In this lesson, students in grades 4-7 explore the engineering design process by building a table out of tubes of newspaper that is strong enough to hold a heavy book. They learn to brainstorm, test, evaluate, and redesign their tables to support more weight and figure out how to keep the table legs from buckling.

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Filed under: Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Lesson: Design a Sturdy Paper Table

Tags: Building Design, Design, Design Squad, Engineering Design, Engineering Design Process, Lesson Plan, PBS, PBS programs, Videos

Scuba diving is an excellent hobby for underwater naturalists. In this lesson, students in grades 6-8 learn about the concepts of buoyancy and how organisms float, sink, or hover in water as they construct a neutrally buoyant “scuba diver.”

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Tags: Grades 6-8, Lesson Plan, Marine engineering, Marine Science, Ocean, Ocean science

This lesson for grades 6-8 explores how civil engineering has solved the challenge of moving water via irrigation. Students learn how irrigation systems direct water for use in farming or other purposes. Using everyday items, each team of students designs and builds an “irrigation system” capable of moving two cups of water at least three feet and distributing it evenly in two separate containers.

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Filed under: Grades 6-8, Lesson Plans | 1 Comment »

Tags: Class Activities, Environmental Engineering, Environmental science, Grades 6-8, Green, Lesson Plan