Digest This!
Posted on November 27th, 2013 by Mary Lord
Student teams in grades 6-8 reinforce their knowledge of the digestive system and explore the concepts of simulation and the engineering design process by developing a pill coating that can withstand the churning and acidic environment of the stomach. They test the coating’s durability using a clear soda to simulate gastric acid.
Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 6-8, Lesson Plans | 2 Comments »
Tags: Biology, Biomedical, Chemical Engineering, Class Activities, coating, digestion, Grades 6-8, Human Body, Lesson Plan, Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Engineering, medicine, pill
In this activity, teams of students in grades 3 to 12 explore how engineers work to solve such societal problems as moving goods, materials, and people by designing and building a conveyor system out of everyday materials than can transport pieces of candy 4 feet, including a 90-degree turn. 
More and more consumer products are being developed using super-small particles, but is it safe? This article examines the steps scientists are taking to try and find an answer, including research being done that has already shown some startling and complicated results.
This lesson uses candy as a medium to illustrate the creation of glass, engaging students in three separate experiments as they predict, observe, and record the outcome of varying controls. The lesson is drawn from the curriculum “Contrasts: A Glass Primer,” developed by the Museum of Glass in Takoma, Washington, which aims to help students comprehend the medium of glass, while emphasizing oppositions in its creation, use, and aesthetics.
Food processing requires a lot of engineering, from developing farm equipment to the automated baking and mixing machines used in prepared desserts. One of the most inventive stages comes toward the end, when the food is packaged. Johannah Frueh, a science teacher at Orange Charter School in Hillsborough, North Carolina, has incorporated the engineering behind designing and making food packaging into her seventh and eighth grade elective lab classes.
In this lesson series for ages 8-18, teams of students explore the engineering behind recorder manufacturing, and then design, construct, test, and evaluate a working musical instrument using easily found materials. Time required: Two to three 45-minute sessions.
