Build an Artificial Bicep
Posted on May 21st, 2021 by Mary Lord
Students in grades 5 to 7 learn about how muscles work and follow the engineering design process to create their own biomedical device to aid in the recovery of a strained bicep. They discover the importance of rest to muscle recovery and that muscles (just like engineers!) work together to achieve a common goal.
Image from NASA Jet Propulsion Lab
Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Build an Artificial Bicep
Tags: anatomy, biceps, biomechanical engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, Human Body, Lesson Plan, muscles
The human body is an engineering marvel, but ligaments snap and organs fail. What if replacement parts could be grown in the lab – or by patients themselves? That’s the exciting frontier of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine that biomedical engineers, scientists, and physicians are exploring, with tantalizing results.
Paralympic champion and University of Pittsburgh assistive-technology pioneer Rory Cooper wants people with disabilities to see engineering as a great career. 
Students in grades 6 to 8 gain an understanding of physical limitations and the biomedical engineering design process by performing a variety of tasks without using their thumbs, eyes, or legs, then working in teams to create or improve and adaptive device.
In this activity, students in grades 5 to 12 learn about accuracy, precision, and simple machines by working in teams to design and build a robotic basketball “player” that can nail a free-throw shot three times in a row.
