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
Posted on July 25th, 2014 by Mary Lord
In this activity, students in grades 4 to 8 use LEGO spur gears to learn about different types of gears and how they are used in many engineering devices, including bicycles, to change the speed, torque, and direction of a power source.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on What Are Gears?
Tags: bicycle, Class Activities, gears, Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, LEGOS, Mathematics, Mechanical engineering, Physics, simple machines, speed, torque
Posted on June 19th, 2014 by Mary Lord
In this activity, part of a robotics design curricular unit, teams of students in grades 4 – 8 learn how to program LEGO® MINDSTORMS® NXT intelligent bricks so that one can remotely control the other, gaining skills and an appreciation for wireless communications as they play “robot soccer.”
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8 | Comments Off on Robot Soccer Challenge
Tags: Class Activities, Electrical Engineering, Grades 6-8, LEGOS, Lesson Plans, programming, Robotics, soccer, software engineering, wireless communications
Posted on May 30th, 2014 by Mary Lord
Pairs of students in grades 3 – 5 investigate sound frequencies and acoustic engineering by creating four different instruments – a shoebox guitar, water-glass xylophone, straw panpipe, and soda bottle organ.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades K-5, Grades K-5, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Simple Musical Instruments
Tags: acoustic engineering, build, Class Activities, Design, frequency, Grades K-5, guitar, hands-on activities, instrument, Music engineering, noise, sound, waves, xylophone
