Posted on August 3rd, 2022 by Mary Lord
In this NGSS-aligned activity, 2nd graders draw on their knowledge of Earth science to follow the engineering design process and investigate solutions for protecting sandcastles from wind and water damage. They make hypotheses, measure and record changes, and support their results using evidence. Suitable for students in grades 1-3.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades K-5, Grades K-5, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Sandcastle Investigations
Tags: construction, data, Earth Science, Engineering Design, erosion, materials, measurement, NGSS, sandcastle construction, sandcastle engineering, structural and civil engineering
Posted on May 27th, 2021 by Mary Lord
When it comes to champions, engineering swept the field at the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games. That’s because all 5,000 gold, silver, and bronze medals were made from recycled cellphones and other electronic waste.
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Filed under: Special Features | Comments Off on Olympic Medals Turn e-Waste to Gold
Tags: 2021 Tokyo Olympics medals from recycled electronics, e-cycling, e-waste, materials, metals, Sustainability
Posted on April 6th, 2018 by Mary Lord
The road to a greener future may start in northwest England’s Cumbria county, where plastic litter is turning up in an unusual new place: street pavements.
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Filed under: Special Features | Comments Off on Plastic Hits the Road
Tags: environmental protection, MacRebur, materials, ocean plastic, plastic roads, Recycling, VolkerWessels
Posted on September 29th, 2017 by Mary Lord
Elementary students act as civil engineers to design and build a house that the big, bad wolf cannot blow down. If time allows, they can redesign and test their structures.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades K-5 | Comments Off on Three Little Pigs Design Challenge
Tags: Civil Engineering, Class Activities, Design, design challenge, ELA, Engineering Design Process, forces, Grades K-5, literacy, materials, NGSS, structures, three little pigs, wind
Posted on August 18th, 2016 by Mary Lord
Students in grades 3 to 5 use engineering problem solving to create structures from paper, straws, tape, and paper clips that can support the weight of at least one textbook. For the second trial, they examine examples of successful buildings in history and try again.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades K-5 | Comments Off on Shapes of Strength
Tags: building, construction engineering, Design, History, learning from failure, materials, parthenon, pyramids, shapes, skyscraper, STEAM, strength, Structural Engineering, Taipei 101
Posted on January 22nd, 2016 by Mary Lord
Paris of students in grades 3 to 6 experience the engineering design process by building and modifying devices to catch and protect a “naked” egg as it is dropped from increasing heights. The activity scales up to district or regional egg drop competitions.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Naked Egg Drop
Tags: Class Activities, Egg drop, Engineering Design Process, forces, Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, kinetic energy, Lesson Plans, materials, motion
Posted on July 10th, 2015 by Mary Lord
High school students working in teams of four learn how a device made with dye from berries can be used to convert light energy into electrical energy by building their own organic solar cells and measuring performance based on power output.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 9-12, Grades 9-12, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Berry Organic Solar Energy
Tags: Alternative Energy, berry, Chemical Engineering, Class Activities, curcuits, electrical circuits, Electrical Engineering, electricity, Grades 9-12, materials, organic, Solar Energy, Sustainability
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.
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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
Posted on September 6th, 2011 by Mary Lord
Concrete for Kids is a fun, hands-on activity to introduce students to engineering and concrete as an engineered material that engineers use to make the structures we use every day, including bridges, buildings, and roads. In this two-period lesson, teams of students in grades K-12 mix and pour concrete to form beams which, once hardened, are tested to see how much weight they can hold before breaking.
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Filed under: Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Grades K-5, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Lesson: Concrete for Kids
Tags: Building Design, Civil Engineering, Class Activities, concrete, Grades K-12, Lesson Plans, materials, Virginia Tech