Beat the Motion Sensor
Posted on February 21st, 2014 by Mary Lord
In this activity, students in grades 7 to 9 explore material properties as they relate to motion detection, and use that knowledge to make design decisions about what types of motion detectors to use in specific applications, such as conserving energy in commercial buildings.
Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12 | Comments Off on Beat the Motion Sensor
Tags: absorption, architectural engineering, building, Clarence L. Elder, Design, Doppler effect, Electrical Engineering, Energy, Energy and Environmental Technology, energy conservation, lighting, material properties, materials, motion, motion detectors, reflection, sensor, sound wave, visible light
Ever walk through a store’s toy department and wonder: Who dreams up these action figures, games, and other fun stuff? Toy engineers do! They get to play for a living, designing and making new toys to engage or educate kids of all ages.
In this hands-on activity, student teams apply the engineering design process to create prototype toys with moving parts. They set up electric circuits using batteries, wire, and motors, and plan project materials to meet budget constraints.
Brigham Young University engineering student Jake Merrell has created a “smart foam” that could be placed inside the helmets of football players to measure the impact of hits to the head, and could help prevent concussions while players are int the game. 
Since 2008, Americans with disabilities have earned more doctorates in science and engineering fields than in non-S&E fields. To mark National Disability Employment Awareness Month 2013, the American Society of Engineering Education salutes these distinguished engineering educators and researchers.
Open to high school and college students nationwide, the AbilityOne Design Challenge is a competition to develop assistive technologies that empower people with disabilities to break through barriers to employment. Top designs can win up to $10,000 for schools and teams. Register by November 29, 2013 (high school students) with late registration up to Jan 17, 2014. College students and teams must sign up by February 28, 2014, with an April 11, 2014 deadline for late registration.
In this activity, teams of students in grades 5 to 7 learn about environmental, civil, and sanitation engineering by designing and building model landfills that hold the most garbage, minimize costs, and prevent trash and contaminated “rainwater” from polluting the nearby “city.” Teams test their landfills, and graph and compare designs for capacity, cost, and performance. 
Refrigeration is considered one of engineering’s greatest 20th-century achievements. In this activity, student teams in grades K – 6 explore the design process by engineering a way to keep an ice cube from melting for 30 minutes.
Students in grades 1 to 6 follow the engineering design process to build and test a catapult that launches projectiles, such as marshmallow “pumpkins.” They then make changes to improve their launcher’s aim and distance it can hurl the projectile.
