Unit developed by Auburn University science educator Christine Schnittka with the help of University of Virginia engineering professor Larry Richards and his students. Click HERE for PDF or HERE for the website. Schnittka’s other engaging “save the animal” STEM lessons and iBook versions can be accessed HERE.

Grade level: 6 – 8

Time: Five 70- to 80-minute units

Summary

Middle school students build up a background knowledge of thermal energy transfer by investigating heat flows and insulating properties of various materials. They then follow the engineering design process to create, test, and redesign a structure (igloo) to keep an ice cube (penguin) from melting.

NOTE: This unit is designed to identify and correct misconceptions about fundamental heat-transfer concepts, so it is important to teach all five hands-on lessons in sequence.

Learning objectives

LESSON 1 – Introduction and Insulation

• Heat transfers from areas of high temperatures to areas of lower temperature.
• Insulators slow down the rate of heat transfer.
• Engineers must identify the problem in order to solve it.

LESSON 2 – Conduction, Radiation, and Convection

• Heat transfers in three different ways.
• Engineers must research and understand the problem in order to solve it.

LESSON 3 – Review of Heat Transfer and Introduction to Experimental Design

• Materials affect the rate of heat transfer.
• Different materials vary in their ability to reduce heat transfer.
• Engineers must use their knowledge of science to brainstorm possible solutions to the problem.

LESSON 4 – Design and Construct Penguin Dwellings

• Materials can be used in conjunction with one another to affect the rate of heat transfer.
• Different materials prevent different types of heat transfer.
• Engineers work within constraints (time, materials, space, money) and use scientific knowledge and creativity to design solutions to problems.

LESSON 5 – Test Penguin Dwellings, Re-design and Final Testing

• Scientific knowledge can be used in the design, construction, and evaluation of a device.
• Engineering is an iterative process of designing, testing, re-designing, and retesting.
• Engineers must document their process of design and present their solution to the problem.

Learning Standards

Next Generation Science Standards

Grades 3 -5

• ESS3-1. Make a claim about the merit of a design solution that reduces the impacts of a weather-related hazard.
• ETS1-1. Define a simple design problem reflecting a need or a want that includes specified criteria for success and constraints on materials, time, or cost.
• ETS1-2. Generate and compare multiple possible solutions to a problem based on how well each is likely to meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
• ETS1-3. Plan and carry out fair tests in which variables are controlled and failure points are considered to identify aspects of a model or prototype that can be improved.
• 4-PS3-2. Make observations to provide evidence that energy can be transferred from place to place by sound, light, heat, and electric currents.

Grades 6-8

• MS-PS4-2. Develop and use a model to describe that waves are reflected, absorbed, or transmitted through various materials.
• MS-PS3-3. Apply scientific principles to design, construct, and test a device that either minimizes or maximizes thermal energy transfer.
• MS-PS3-4. Plan an investigation to determine the relationships among the energy transferred, the type of matter, the mass, and the change in the average kinetic energy of the particles as measured by the temperature of the sample.
• MS-ETS1-1. Define the criteria and constraints of a design problem with sufficient precision to ensure a successful solution, taking into account relevant scientific principles and potential impacts on people and the natural environment that may limit possible solutions.
• MS-ETS1-2. Evaluate competing design solutions using a systematic process to determine how well they meet the criteria and constraints of the problem.
• MS-ETS1-3. Analyze data from tests to determine similarities and differences among several design solutions to identify the best characteristics of each that can be combined into a new solution to better meet the criteria for success.
• MS-ETS1-4. Develop a model to generate data for iterative testing and modification of a proposed object, tool, or process such that an optimal design can be achieved.

National Science Education Standards

Physical Science Content Standard B [Grades 5-8]

• Heat moves in predictable ways, flowing from warmer objects to cooler ones, until both reach the same temperature.
• Light interacts with matter by absorption or reflection.

Introduction and Background

Students’ conceptions of heat and temperature begin at a young age and persist through school. Because of how youngsters experience warmth, cold, and touching hot or cold things, naïve concepts of temperature and heat transfer are often resistant to change. Even young children intuitively develop a “framework theory of physics” to describe and explain the world they experience. The once-popular caloric theory that heat is a substance made of particles that flow still dominates children’s thinking, and they rely on their senses to measure temperature, not understanding the kinetic theory and its implications in heat transfer.

The belief that cold is a substance that moves is prevalent with middle and high school students. They also think that metal objects are naturally colder than plastic ones because metal attracts the cold. The directional nature of heat transfer is not understood because heat is not seen to be a form of energy.

This unit is designed to help middle-grades students with science concepts related to heat and energy as well as teach them the basics of engineering design. The broad context is global climate change. Students learn that the energy we use to heat and cool our houses comes from power plants, most of which use fossil fuels to convert chemical energy to electrical energy. The burning of fossil fuels has been linked to increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which in turn has been linked to increases in global temperature. This change in temperature has widespread effects upon life on Earth.

Penguins live in the southern hemisphere, primarily on the icy continent of Antarctica. As the Earth warms and ice melts, penguins lose habitat. Therefore, students see that better-designed houses that use less energy for heating and cooling can have an effect on penguins. Energy efficient houses that minimize unnecessary heat transfer will draw less electricity from the fossil fuel burning power plants and not contribute as much to global climate change.

Engineering Connection/Motivation [contributed by eGFI]

Engineers and scientists work together to tackle the world’s greatest challenges, from developing personalized medicine to protecting communities and the environment from the ravages of climate change.

The polar regions, which affect weather patterns, sea levels, and shipping routes, have drawn increasing attention in recent years. Researchers at NASA and the National Oceans and Atmospheric Administration, for example, have studied ice-shelf fracturing and analyzed the chemical and biological contents of Greenland melt water.

Engineering faculty and students also are involved in cold-zone research. At Dartmouth’s Thayer School of Engineering, professors and graduate students are designing robots for extremely cold environments and interpreting Greenland ice core samples. Other engineering researchers are devising more energy-efficient homes to reduce fossil-fuel emissions that contribute to climate change. They also are building sturdier ice breakers and ships to navigate northern sea channels as well as instruments and other technologies to study fragile polar ecosystems.

Teacher’s Guidance
While you may be tempted to jump into the design activity and skip over the demonstrations, please do not. The demonstrations provide the cognitive scaffolding necessary for students to link the design challenge with the complex science of heat transfer. They present students with cognitive dissonance through discrepant events; the opportunity to face and refine their misconceptions of heat is imperative for the success of this lesson. Without the demonstrations and discussions that surround them, students will take away a fun activity that may or may not help them understand the science or what engineers do. With the demonstrations, students will gain increased conceptual understanding about thermal energy, heat transfer, and temperature.

Materials

Technology

• For PowerPoint presentations: A computer with speakers, an LCD projector, and screen.
• If laptops or tablets are available, encourage the use of the social networking educational space, Edmodo. You’ll need to set up an account for yourself and a “space” for your students to dialogue with each other, share ideas, photos, videos, websites, etc. It’s also a good way for you to post questions and encourage students to respond.

For each student:

• Heat Transfer Evaluation (pre- and post-assessment)

For each team to do all five activities, assuming one teacher with four classes of about 112 students in total. See individual lessons for when each material is needed.

• 1 bag 100% cotton balls, 100 count
• 1 pack craft sticks, 150 count
• 1 pack Black construction paper
• 1 pack Green construction paper
• 1 pack Pink construction paper
• 1 pack White construction paper
• 12 each color Foam sheets in white, black, pink and green
• 12 pieces White felt fabric, polyester, 9” x 12”
• 12 pieces Pink felt fabric, polyester, 9” x 12”
• 12 pieces Black felt fabric, polyester, 9” x 12”
• 12 pieces Green felt fabric, polyester, 9” x 12”
• 1 Duck bubble wrap, 12″ x 10 feet
• 1 Heavy duty aluminum foil, 75 sq. feet
• 3 sheets Mylar 18” x 30” Sheets
• 1 Hefty One Zip gallon storage bags, 12 count
• 7 Scotch tape Office
• 7 Aileen’s Original Tacky Glue, 4 fl. Oz
• 28 Plastic shoebox, 6 qt. size
• 1 Black tote bin, 108 quart capacity
• 7 Dixie cups, white plastic
• 1 Play money
• 2 Silicone penguin ice cube trays
• 14 Digital thermometers
• 7 Desk lamps or Shop lamps
• 7 Light bulbs, 100W
• 1 6 pack of soda
• 1 Wool sock
• 1 Cotton sock (charcoal/black)
• 1 Plastic tray
• 1 Metal tray (silver or silver plate is best)
• 2 Top Fin flexible aquarium thermometers
• 14 Poster boards
• 7 Metal spoons (silver or silver plate is best)
• 7 Plastic spoons
• 1 Homemade cardboard house with black painted roof

Optional: Award certificates (PPT template) for winning designs.

Procedure [See PDF for full procedure, teacher’s notes, video links, and materials needed]

Lesson 1 – Introduction & Insulation –  in a nutshell [pages 10 – 17 of the PDF]
1. Heat Transfer Evaluation pre-assessment (10 minutes)
2. Save the Penguins Introduction PowerPoint (30 minutes)
3. Introduction to Storyboard poster (15 minutes)
4. Demonstration 1 – Soda Can Demo (20 minutes)

Teacher Note: Now is a good time to address the “Keeping the Cold In” misconception by reminding students that only heat (not cold) transfers. If only heat can transfer, what is their method really doing? Keeping heat out, NOT keeping the cold air in.

Extensions

Math Connection: The data acquired from Lesson 1 provides the opportunity to discuss Fahrenheit to Celsius conversions. Have students develop graphs to determine:

• Box and whisker plots for each can over time
• The relationship between time and temperature

Lesson 2 – Conduction, Radiation, and Convection – in a nutshell  [Pages 18 to 27 of the PDF]

1. Review insulation demonstration from day before (10 minutes)
2. Demonstration 2 – Trays demo (10 minutes)
3. Demonstration 3 – Spoons demo (15 minutes)
4. Demonstration 4 – Black-roofed house demo (20 minutes)
5. Demonstration 5 – Space blanket demo (5 minutes)
6. Documenting learning on storyboard (10 minutes) Teacher Note: Below are two critical misconceptions among students with

Teacher’s note: Address two critical misconceptions now. First, the “Heat Rises Misconception.” Students will often state that heat rises. Remind the student that heat is not a substance and while hot air can rise, heat is the transfer of thermal energy and that can occur in any direction. Hot air does not rise unless it is pushed up (displaced) by sinking cooler air.

Second is the “Cold Transfers Misconception” – Students may think that because cold air sinks, that “coldness” transfers. Remind them that cold substances can move, but cold itself does not transfer. Energy transfers. Thermal energy transfers.

Lesson 3 – Introduction to Experimental Design – in a nutshell [pages 28 to 32 of the PDF]

1. Review exit card on methods of heat transfer (15 minutes)
2. Introduce students to kit of materials (5 minutes)
3. Model how to conduct experiments at experimentation stations (15 minutes)
4. Students test materials and keep records of their work on storyboard (30 minutes)
5. Teacher and students discuss all the experiments done in class this day (10 minutes)

Lesson 4 – Penguin Dwellings, Design & Construction – in a nutshell [pages 33 to 37 of the PDF]  

1. Students discuss engineering and what engineers do. (15 minutes)
2. Students conduct additional experiments as needed and share results (10 minutes)
3. Students design initial dwelling (15 minutes)
4. Students purchase additional materials necessary from Igloo Depot (10 minutes)
5. Students construct dwelling (40 minutes)

Includes What is Engineering PowerPoint presentation and engineering design process handout.  See also this eGFI Teachers’ blog post on the engineering design process and a lesson and diagram from The Works.

Lesson 5 – Penguin Dwellings, Design Testing & Retesting – in a nutshell [pages 38 to 44 of the PDF]

1. Test designs in hot box. (20 minutes)
2. Have students research innovations in building materials on computers while penguins melt. Or use PowerPoint presentation, Innovative Building Materials.
3. Analyze and discuss results. (20 minutes)
4. Have students record modifications they would like to do on their design, and then use their remaining money to purchase more supplies, or reconfigure the materials already purchased. (20 minutes)
5. Test re-designed igloos in hot box. (20 minutes)
6. Administer the post-test and work on their storyboards. (10 minutes)
7. Analyze and discuss the results. (20 minutes)
8. Optional: Hand out award certificates (PPT template) for winning designs.

Suggested awards:

• Effective Design – Awarded to the teams that saved the most penguin. (1st, 2nd, and 3rd place awards can be given)
• Most Improved Design – Awarded to the team that improved the most from Test 1 to Test 2
• Affordable Housing Award for Financially Challenged Penguins – Awarded to the team that spent the least amount of money but still saved at least half of the penguin.

Teacher Note: 20 minutes is approximately how long it takes for a “homeless” ice penguin to totally melt. Be sure to add a “homeless” penguin as a control by placing an ice penguin on the floor of the hot box. After 20 minutes it will be a very tiny morsel of ice.

Assessment

Formative assessment – embedded within the lessons, providing continual feedback to the teachers and students for improving instruction. They include:

• Whole-group discussions involving students’ predictions of what will happen during demonstrations and feedback from students/groups following each demonstration.
• Measuring the amount of penguin ice cube that is ‘saved’ as a result of students’ designing an energy efficient penguin dwelling.
• Storyboarding during each lesson. A storyboard is like a comic strip in that it tells a story through drawings and words divided up into sections that flow logically. Each time students learn a new concept, do an experiment, create a design, or test a design, it should be recorded on the storyboard for teachers and students to see and comment on. Ideally, the storyboard is on the wall for easy viewing.

Summative assessment – an evaluation of cumulative performance, given as written tests before and after the unit to determine students’ content knowledge gains on heat transfer concepts. Teachers should have each student complete the “Heat Transfer Evaluation” at the start of the unit, collect the assessments, score them, but do not return or discuss them with the students. The instrument is based on misconceptions research and has been assessed for face and content validity, construct validity, and reliability. The same evaluation will be given to each student at the end of the unit. Collect the post-tests, score them, and compare each student’s pre- and post-test scores. The assessment will provide the teacher with information about students’ misconceptions about heat.

Safety considerations

Caution students not to touch heat lamps during any of the demonstrations or during the testing of designs or materials. The surface of the heat lamp and surrounding dome can cause significant skin burns if touched during or immediately after use. If you use heat lamps with clamps, consider clamping them to ring stands or other stationary devices to reduce the need for handling them.

Additional resources

Antarctic Ice: Sea Level Changes  and Global Warming Threatens Caribou. Short videos, standards, and activity from PBS Learning Center.

Penguin cam. Explore.org livestream webcam from Long Beach, Calif.

A BBC Dynasties film crew make snow ramp to help penguins stranded in gully in Antarctica:

©2009 Christine G. Schnittka, Ph.D., in cooperation with the Virginia Middle School Engineering Education Initiative (updated version 12-21-14). Developed through funding from the National Science Foundation ITEST awards # 10-29724 and #12-47287.

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Lesson developed by Liesl Hotaling and presented at the 2017 NSTA STEM Forum and regional conference.   

Grade level: 6 – 12

Time:  Four 50-minute lessons

Summary

Students learn about the importance of the polar regions by connecting with scientists and the data generated by their cutting-edge research on penguins and ocean environments.

Introduction/Motivation

Polar regions influence our daily lives, including climate, shipping routes, and the supply of resources from fish to petroleum. This series of lessons, presented by ASEE member Liesl Hotaling at the National Science Teachers Association’s regional meeting in October and annual STEM Forum in July 2017, aims to engage students in understanding the importance of this region by connecting them with polar scientists and data generated by cutting-edge polar research. Click HERE for links to Hotaling’s presentation, activities, and other materials.

Lesson 1: Ocean Convergence: Let’s Get Together

Ocean convergence zones occur where water comes together in a specific area due to the meeting of two ocean currents or when the water meets the coastline. This often causes a build up in height of the surface. Anything floating at the surface collects in a convergence zone. The students will participate in a hands-on activity to explore how convergence zones collect particles in the water. Students will then look at Surface Current maps from Antarctica to find patterns in where convergence zones occur in the Palmer Deep area.

Lesson 2: Penguins Foraging: Where and Why?

Adelie penguins forage by collecting Antarctic krill and returning to their nests to feed their chicks. Forage density is higher in convergence zones, as the penguins are more efficient at finding food. Students will experience foraging behavior of Adelie penguins by acting out foraging patterns and analyzing their data. The students will then look at distribution data of penguins foraging to determine what factors could influence the location of penguin foraging.

Lesson 3: Ocean Robots & Data: What? How? Why?

Gliders enable scientists to gather lots of information about ocean conditions, such as temperature, salinity, and phytoplankton, from the surface to the deepest reaches. Through a class demonstration, students will learn about how a glider works and then brainstorm how and why scientists use ocean robots to collect data.

Lesson 4: Investigating Why Penguins Forage There: Piloting Gliders

Through a hands-on activity, students will simulate a science team as they integrate data about surface currents and penguin movements to decide where to send the glider.

Polar-ICE Data Story: What drives patterns in ocean change?

The ocean varies immensely over space and time. But how can we understand what drives the patterns in the differences of the ocean over space and time? How might the differences influence what kind of animals lives where?

Polar-ICE is made possible by the support of the National Science Foundation Grant# PLR-1525635. http://polar-ice.org/

Project Polar Bear

Project Polar Bear is an international competition for middle and high school student groups taking action to fight climate change. Teams compete by creating a plan for a project that will help reduce reliance on fossil fuels and engage their communities. This can be a new project or a proposal to continue an existing project. Students and advisors track their progress during the competition through photos, research, and on social media. The top three high-scoring teams receive a grant of $1000, $750, and $300, respectively. For more information visit: www.polarbearsinternational.org

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In her long career as an engineer and educator, Leslie Field has helped get the lead out of gasoline, inspired hundreds of students as a Stanford University lecturer, and earned dozens of patents for innovations with billion-dollar impacts on industries as diverse as oil and microelectronics.

Such accomplishments pale in comparison to her latest undertaking, however, a “Silicon Valley moonshot” called Ice911. Its mission: Mitigate climate change by restoring ice in the Arctic. How? Spread an environmentally safe, white silica sand in strategic locations to reflect heat “like a white shirt on a hot summer day” and protect the ice below, explains the nonprofit’s website.

Ice911 is just one of the many intriguing – and unsettling – initiatives to emerge from the controversial new field of geoengineering. These intentional, large-scale manipulations of the environment tackle different processes but share a common goal of  counteracting the effects of global warming. At Harvard’s Solar Geoengineering Research Program, for example, investigators are working on novel aerosols that might reduce or even reverse ozone loss as well as reduce stratospheric heating. Other researchers are examining the public’s perceptions and policy implications of geoengineering.

The New Yorker laid out geoengineering’s pros, cons, and players in a thoughtful May 2012 article by Michael Specter called “The Climate Fixers.” Field, who founded Ice911 in 2006 after seeing the environmental call-to-arm An Inconvenient Truth, understands the widespread anxiety about such massive technological interventions. Thus, she starts with the principle of “do no harm” and seeks safe, reversible solutions.

White sand, dubbed “Arctic dust” in the December 9, 2018 episode of Podcast Earth, fits the bill.

Inert and lightweight, the silica microspheres that Field and her team spent a decade researching and testing, don’t attract oil-based pollutants and are considered safe for arctic creatures. Moreover, the particles – which are basically engineered silicon dioxide, or beach sand, not plastic – can be evenly distributed atop the ice. And since they are hollow, they float on the melt water, preserving the protective covering in spring.

Ice911 has tested several methods for spreading the sand without putting humans on sea ice. (See image from a winter test that illustrates this blog post excerpt.) In April 2017, researchers automatically deployed sand across 17,500 square meters of Arctic ice. In 2018, they used the same method to cover 15,000 square meters of ice. The goal within a few years is to protect 15,000 to 100,000 square kilometers.

Learn more about Field and her work in the Xinova profile, “Love and Ice,”

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The 116th U.S. Congress shattered a number of barriers when a historic number of women of color were sworn in on January 3. The ranks include New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 29, the youngest woman ever elected to the House or Senate, and Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, Congress’s  first Somali-American member.

Also making history is a former high school history teacher and 2016 National Teacher of the Year. Rep. Jahana Hayes, the first black woman from Connecticut to serve in Congress, was one of more than 170 current teachers who ran for office this election cycle, according to Education Week.

Before taking office, Hayes spoke to Education Week about her legislative priorities—she hopes to join the House education committee—as well as her thoughts on Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, her experiences on the campaign trail, and what her election means for her students. 

Here are some excerpts:

On Her Decision to Run for Office

“The defining moment for me was when I had a group of my students in California for a Habitat for Humanity trip because what I did was service—I had a club called the HOPE club, which stood for Helping Out People Everywhere. I really wanted to instill in these young people that you have a responsibility to be of service to others; to help in your community in any way that you can. And I had these kids in California this year, over spring break, and literally just looked at them and had a moment where I thought, ‘I’m teaching them about this world that waits for them and their responsibility to be contributors. And I see this being chipped away at.’ You know, ‘Who will speak for them?’ is a line that I’ve said often, but that’s really where it came from. I asked myself that question, ‘Who will speak for them?’ and decided I was going to run for Congress to speak for all of those people who do not have a voice in the conversation.”

On Her Priorities in Congress

Hayes wants to prioritize universal pre-K, career readiness, civics education, and mentoring new teachers.

On Education Secretary Betsy DeVos

On School Safety and Arming Teachers

[Editor’s note: Hayes represents the district that encompasses Newtown, where the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting took place.]

“I worked in a school with 1,300 young people. I would never want the responsibility of securing a firearm in a school with 1,300 teenagers or having to have a conversation that began, ‘I thought I locked my desk,’ or ‘I don’t know how they got the gun away from me.’ My husband is a police officer. We have firearms in our house. If there’s an active shooter in a school and police are deployed, it’s a high-tense, high-pressure situation. To have almost no training and be expected to use a firearm in a high-pressure situation, I don’t think I would want that responsibility.

We need to have more background checks to make it more difficult for people to obtain firearms illegally. We have a lot of conversation about getting them off the streets. How about, let’s stop them from getting on the streets. I think we really need to look at mental health and the crisis that we have surrounding mental health.

On Inspiring Young People to Get Civically Engaged

Hayes’ historic campaign motivated her students and other young people to get involved in politics, she said.

On Her Experience as 2016 National Teacher of the Year

“I saw education through so many different lenses. I had been a classroom teacher in the state of Connecticut in the same community where I was born and raised for my entire career. But what I saw [during my travels across the country] was that different communities were suffering with the same challenges, and different communities have tried different approaches. What I saw was that we want the same things… Different states, different demographics, and people were having the same conversations. And I realized that this is a national conversation. It’s not just about what affects kids at Kennedy High School in Waterbury, but it’s everywhere. In Wisconsin, New Mexico—everywhere around the country—people are faced with the same challenges, and we just want the best outcomes for our children and to elevate the profession.”

Click HERE to watch Rep. Hayes discuss her Teacher of the Year experience – and Congressional orientation – on Late Night with Seth Meyers.

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Level: Graduating High School Seniors
Deadline: Feb. 28, 2019
Where: Camp Pocahontas, near Bartow, W.V.
Dates: June 27 – July 20, 2019
Cost: Free, including travel to and from the camp and visit to Washington, D.C.

Click HERE to apply.

The National Youth Science Camp (NYSC), one of the country’s premier science education programs, offers graduating high school seniors from around the country and world a month of outdoor adventure and hands-on projects in the beautiful woods near Bartow, W.V., all travel costs and camp fees paid.

A typical day might include a morning lecture from a guest scientist

or astronaut, small-group, hands-on science seminars, and lots of hiking, caving, art projects, and fun discussions on topics from why engineered systems fail to origami. There also are trips to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and to Washington, D.C., just five hours by car, where recent keynote speakers have included National Institutes of Health director Francis Collins and NASA director .

This article on the 2016 camp describes the camp activities… like the visit to Einstein’s statue at the National Academies of Science in Washington:

Each state and country conducts its own competition to select two delegates to represent them at the camp. NYSC alumni include astronauts, members of Congress, Nobel Prize winners, and business leaders.

Watch a short video of two students from Trinidad and Tobago describing their time at the 2017 NYSC, or another short video of Mateo Duque, from Colombia, on his 2011 NYSC experience.

Applications must be completed online (except for students in Florida, Georgia, and Massachusetts) and are due February 28, 2019. Click HERE to apply. (http://apply.nyscamp.org/) Students will need to set up an account) and for answers to frequently asked questions. 

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Who says engineering is all work and no play? Not the creative undergraduates at the University of Minnesota’s College of Science and Engineering who created the pulsating, 250,000-bulb Winter Light Show (above).

They’re in great company. A few years back, University of Toledo electrical engineering major Alec Connolly synchronized holiday songs airing on a downtown radio station with 3,000 twinkling lights strung outside in the shape of a Christmas tree.

He dreamed up the idea during a co-op with the iHeartMedia, when his boss, the director of engineering and information technology at iHeartMedia, threw a bag of holiday lights on his desk and challenged him to figure out how to program them to blink to live music rather than a narrow set of prerecorded songs.

Then there is Tech Twinkles, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s annual student-mounted holiday light show. The event features a cappella performances, hot apple cider, cupcakes, and selfies while strolling through the trees. The tradition was started in 2014 when Veronika Jedryka ’17, Teresa de Figueiredo ’17, and Jane He ’15 realized how early it gets dark outside during the winter. “We thought it would be great to add some kind of brightness to MIT’s campus and lift people’s spirits,” Jedryka explained in an MIT news account,  “especially during a tough time with finals and final projects.”

Of course, engineering is not all sweetness and lights. Faculty and students do lots of serious year-round research on such breakthrough technologies as white lasers, smart LEDs, and photonics. Utah State University faculty and students dazzled at ASEE’s Annual Conference in Salt Lake City this past June with an enormous display of research – topped by a blue-lit A.

Back in 2012, Washington State University’s Haluk Beyenal, then an associate professor of chemical and bioengineering, and his graduate student Timothy Ewing created an unusual light display powered by a microbial fuel cell – essentially a bucket of muddy water full of bacteria with wire that could channel the energy generated by the creatures eating. The lights spelled MFC, which remained glowing all year in the hope it would prompt students to ask questions about the unique alternative energy source.

The funding source for this outreach project: A prestigious 2010 National Science Foundation CAREER grant for outstanding early-career engineering and science researchers. Bayenal is now directs a biofilm lab that takes students out in the field – no matter what time of year.

For an artist’s take on seasonal displays, check out Bruce Munro: Winter Light, a transfixing – and tranquil – series of colorful installations at the Minnesota Arboretum.

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Grade level: 6-12       Time: 1 hour

Engineering Connection

Electronic circuits are at the core of nearly every new technology. Circuits power cell phones, computers and televisions, and are essential in cars, houses and kitchens. Circuits are everywhere and modern innovations would not be possible without them. Circuits enable electricity to flow between speakers, bulbs, buzzers, sensors, buttons and batteries. When engineers design new technologies, they often design and build companion electronic circuits so the technology functions as intended. In this activity, students are reminded about how electronic circuits work and then build their own circuits using simple, easy-to-use materials and provided templates (three designs). A PowerPoint® presentation is provided.

Fig. 5 Finished pixel-heart card.

13. Assemble and finish:

• • When the pop-ups are constructed and ready to light up, carefully place them over the copper tape circuit. Glue or tape the corners down to adhere to the backing (see Figure 5 as an example). Gently fold down the pop-up to close the card.
  • Finally, use a marker or stickers to indicate where to push the button.
  • Add additional decorations to make the card extra special.

14. Conclude by asking the post-activity reflection questions as described in the Assessment section.

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Looking for inspiring books that not only are good stories that build literacy skills but accurately depict complex STEM content?

Check out the National Science Teachers Association’s 2019 Best STEM Books!

Responding to continued calls from teachers for just such a “best books” list, NSTA invited a unique collaboration several years ago with three other groups to help set the standard: the American Society for Engineering Educators (ASEE), the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association (ITEEA), and the mathematics representatives from the Society of Elementary Presidential Awardees (SEPA).

The list of 24 books was chosen by volunteer educators identified in collaboration with the Children’s Book Council. Click HERE to see the criteria for selecting a book.

The 2019 roster includes tales of technology, such as the development of NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover and a history of Google, and biographies of women like Komodo Dragon  researcher Joan Proctor, Navy engineer Raye Montague, and mathematician Sophie Germain, who defied sexism and racism to become innovators in their fields. Other works illuminate coral reefs, the comeback of the American chestnut tree, and the daring effort to build the first trans-Atlantic telecommunications cable.

Image from Joan Proctor, Dragon Doctor: The Woman Who Loved Reptiles,  by Patricia Valdez

Seek tips for teaching STEM through literature? ASEE engineering educators have research-proven curriculum and tips! Check out PictureSTEM, Purdue University’s early grades engineering-through-literacy curriculum project. Or search for papers presented at the ASEE Annual Conference such as this 2011 Texas Tech’s paper: Introducing Engineering to Young Children Through Early STEM Literacy.

Doing a bridge-design activity? Check out eGFI Teachers’ Building Bridges to Literacy with titles sure to spark your students’ imaginations! Click HERE for the 2017 Best STEM books line-up featuring ASEE Pre-college Division past chair Pamela Lottero-Perdue, professor and director of the Integrated STEM Instructional Leadership (PreK-6) Post Baccalaureate Certificate Program at Towson University in Maryland.

Happy reading!

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NSTA/Toshiba ExploraVision

• Who: Students in grades K-12 and their teachers
• Project: Research a current technology and what it might look like in 20 years, describing the development steps in 5 sample web pages.
• Prizes: Up to $10,000 in U.S. Savings Bonds; eight teams are flown to Washington, D.C., for the national finals in March.
• Projects Due: 11:59 p.m. Eastern, February 8, 2019
• REGISTER YOUR TEAM TODAY

ExploraVision is a K-12 STEM competition that focuses on what it takes to bring ideas to reality. Working with a teacher, teams of up to 4 students pick a current technology, research it, envision what it might look like in 20 years, and describe the development steps, pros and cons, and obstacles. Here are some sample projects.

Sponsored by the National Science Teachers Association and Toshiba, this year’s contest is linked to the Next Generation Science Standards. More than 375,000 students in the United States and Canada have participated in ExploraVision since its 1992 debut.

Students can win up to $10,000 in U.S. savings bonds. Past winners have envisioned technologies ranging from a hand-held food allergen detector to a new device to help people who have lost limbs regain movement in real time and a retinal lens to counter the cloudy vision of people with macular degeneration.

The competition is open to students enrolled in public and private schools or home educated in the United States and Canada. See the full eligibility requirements here.

Projects must be received at Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision, online by 11:59 pm EST, Monday, February 8, 2019. Click HERE for project format.

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