Posted on November 6th, 2011 by mxl
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 | Comment »
Tags: cookies, earth sciences, minerals, Mining, mining engineering, ore, reclamation, women in mining
Posted on October 29th, 2011 by mxl
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 | Comment »
Tags: action, Avatar, computer animation, Computer Engineering, film engineering, literacy, mo-cap, motion capture technology, movie technology, Puss 'N Boots, writing
Posted on October 23rd, 2011 by mxl
Safer highways. Cool phone apps. Green buildings. Thrilling roller coasters. What do all these things have in common? All bear the stamp of engineering design – a process of brainstorming, building, testing, and refining to create a product, service, or system within time or resource limits.
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Filed under: Lesson Plans, Special Features | Comment »
Tags: build, Design, Engineering Design, Engineering Design Process, Lesson Plan, Resources for Teachers
Posted on October 16th, 2011 by mxl
In this activity, students in grades 5 – 11 will use M&Ms to learn about radioactivity, the rate at which an isotope decays, and the concept of half-life. They will count and record the number of decayed “atoms” and graph the results.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Grades 9-12, Lesson Plans | Comment »
Tags: Energy, half life, nuclear energy, Nuclear Engineering, radioactive decay, radioactivity
Posted on October 9th, 2011 by mxl
In this hands-on activity designed to teach chemical-engineering principles to freshman engineering students at Rowan University, teams of high school students will melt chocolate and coat commercially available cookies, then perform several measurements and calculations. They then will write a lab report that includes nutritional labeling and recommendations for improving the chocolate-coating process.
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Filed under: Grades 9-12, Lesson Plans | Comment »
Tags: Chemical Engineering, Class Activities, Food Industry, Grades 9-12, Lesson Plan, Project ENGAGE
Posted on October 2nd, 2011 by ASEE
In this lesson, students in grades 2 – 7 use simple materials to design and make model sailboats that must stay upright and sail straight in a testing tank. They will learn the basic components of a ship and how design represents a tradeoff between speed, stability, and ease of handling.
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Filed under: Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, Lesson Plans | 1 Comment »
Tags: Ocean
Posted on September 28th, 2011 by mxl
In this lesson, K-12 student teams have a limited period of time (18 minutes) to build the tallest free-standing spaghetti structure that can support a marshmallow. They learn how engineers collaborate to design, test, and improve on their ideas, as well as examine hidden assumptions that can derail the creative process and final product.
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Filed under: Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Grades K-5, Lesson Plans | 2 Comments »
Tags: Class Activities, Engineering Design Process, Lesson Plan, marshmallow, marshmallow design challenge, spaghetti
Posted on September 25th, 2011 by mxl
In this lesson, students in grades 6-8 discover how engineers can use biomimicry to enhance their designs. They learn how careful observation of nature — in this case, reverse engineering a flower — can lead to new innovations and products.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 6-8, Lesson Plans | Comment »
Tags: Biomimicry, Class Activities, Environmental Engineering, Grades 6-8, Lesson Plan
Posted on September 18th, 2011 by mxl
In this activity, student teams in grades 9 to 12 design and build a one-bedroom model house within design constraints that uses passive solar heating techniques to heat the house and sustain that temperature as long as possible.
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Filed under: Grades 9-12, Lesson Plans | 1 Comment »
Tags: Alternative Energy, Architecture, home design, model house, passive solar, Solar Energy, Solar Engineering, solar heat, temperature