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 8th, 2020 by Mary Lord
In this open-ended design activity, students in grades 3 to 5 use everyday materials such as water bottles and straws to build small-scale transportation devices that incorporate two simple machines: a wheel and axle, and a lever. They race their vehicles, measuring distance, time and weight; and then calculate speed.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades K-5, Grades K-5, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Wheeling It In
Tags: bicycle, Engineering Design Process, Geometry, levers, measurement, NGSS aligned activity, Physics, simple machines, transporation, vehicle
Posted on April 6th, 2020 by Mary Lord
Middle school students measure how much dust, pollen, and other particulate matter is present in the air around them by placing “pollution detectors” in various locations and then examining the captured air particles to determine which places have more or fewer airborne particles. In a companion activity, they engineer methods of removing contaminants.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 6-8, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on I Breathe WHAT?!
Tags: air pollution, data, Environmental Engineering, investigation, measurement, NGSS aligned, pollen
Posted on September 22nd, 2017 by Mary Lord
Working in groups of 8, middle school students use their senses to describe and predict the weather, then act as state park engineers and design/build “backyard weather stations” to gather data to make actual weather forecasts.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 6-8, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Backyard Weather Station
Tags: air mass, Class Activities, clouds, cold front, data, Design, Earth Science, Environmental science, forecast, Grades 6-8, hurricane, Lesson Plan, measurement, Meteorology, NGSS, thermometer, Weather, weather station
Posted on January 29th, 2016 by Mary Lord
Teams of high school students use their understanding of projectile physics and fluid dynamics to calculate the water pressure in squirt guns by measuring the range of the water jets. They create graphs to analyze how the predicted pressure relates to the number of times they pump the water gun before shooting.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 9-12 | Comments Off on A Shot Under Pressure
Tags: Bernoulli, calculations, Class Activities, data analysis, fluid dynamics, forces and motion, Grades 9-12, graph, Mathematics, measurement, Physics, pressure, projectile, Super Soaker, variables, velocity, water gun
Posted on September 23rd, 2015 by Mary Lord
In this NASA activity, students in grades 1-8 learn about the challenges of space nutrition and designing food packaging by observing, measuring, comparing, and contrasting the ripening of fruits and vegetables when exposed to air and the effect of chemical treatments to inhibit ripening.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, Grades K-5, K-12 Outreach Programs, Lesson Plans | Comments Off on Ripening Fruit in Space
Tags: Aerospace, agriculture, astronauts, Class Activities, fruit, Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, Mathematics, measurement, NASA, nutrition, observation, ripening, space food, surface area, vegetables
Posted on March 25th, 2014 by Mary Lord
In this delicious exercise, middle school students in teams of 3 to 5 learn about the field of industrial engineering by creating an assembly line to pack as many snack bags in 2 minutes as possible. They then see if they can improve their process.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12 | Comments Off on Snack Bag Assembly
Tags: assembly line, Class Activities, cookies, Grades 6-8, Grades 9-12, Industrial engineering, industrial process, Lesson Plans, measurement, Northeastern University, snack, Systems Engineering, time motion studies
Posted on March 25th, 2014 by Mary Lord
In this quick, fun activity, pairs of students in grades 2 – 8 will learn about industrial engineering and measurement by estimating how many times a partner can complete a task in one minute, then checking the estimate against actual performance. Students then can discuss ways to improve their performance and try again.
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Filed under: Class Activities, Grades 6-8, Grades K-5 | Comments Off on Just a Minute!
Tags: Class Activities, estimation, Grades 6-8, Grades K-5, Industrial engineering, inquiry, investigation, Mathematics, measurement, time management, time motion studies