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Lesson: The Math of Sailboat Design

SailboatStudents learn about sailboat design and how the shape of sails affects their movement. They apply what they learn about sailboat design to their math lesson, which involves the basic postulate of right triangle trigonometry and the Pythagorean Theorem. The lesson provides a fun, hands-on way to demonstrate that the Pythagorean Theorem can be tested and proved.

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Lesson: Ballast Systems in Submarines

Submarine With Water and Air Gushing from Ballast TanksThis lesson helps students understand how a submarine controls its buoyancy through the use of ballasts. Students construct a model ballast system, and then learn to control its vent valves to make it submerge and surface.

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Lesson: Egg Drop

EggsThe egg drop is a fun and dramatic way to get students involved in engineering design. After a discussion of safety features, students experiment packaging an egg to produce a design that will allow it to fall from a considerable height without cracking.

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Lesson: Sand and Water

Sand CastleIf you’re fortunate enough to live near a beach or sandy banks or dunes, this sand-castle construction lesson from the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve will both instruct and entertain, helping your students understand the cohesive force of water tension and the adhesive force of capillary action.

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Activity: Propel a Toy Boat with Chemicals

BubblesStudents grades 4-12 conduct a simple experiment that demonstrates how a familiar chemical — liquid soap — can be used to break the surface tension of water and propel a toy boat. Older students move into further inquiry of chemical dispersants and their use in combating oil spills.

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Activity: Shipwreck Survival

Surviving a Ship WreckDo your students have what it takes to survive and be rescued? In this activity from Boston’s Museum of Science, student teams practice the design skills of engineers as they create survival tools from a crate of supplied materials. They learn about teamwork, brainstorming, innovation, and creative material reuse in attempting to create a protective shelter, a method for gathering food, and a signal for help. The teams test their designs for feasibility before having a design review with the rest of the class.

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Activity: Glass Blowing Simulation

Glass BlowingIn this activity, elementary and middle school students learn about glass and the techniques for making it, especially glass blowing. Then, students experiment with honey to get a feel for how glass is blown, and butter, to learn how temperature changes affect a material.

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Lesson Plan: Plasma Globes and Electricity

Plasma GlobeUsing a plasma ball or lightning globe, students in grades 3-5 test various objects to see if they pull the electric current generated by the globe to them. Students then explore how the globe excited electrons inside the fluorescent bulbs to make them light.

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Lesson: Landfills and Contamination

What happens to garbage? In this lesson, students grades 9-12 derive the answer by building their own landfill. While observing how household waste can leach into soil and groundwater, they also learn the importance of well supervised, sanitary disposal sites.

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