Collaborative groups work together with a variety of materials to design an eight-inch canoe that floats for at least three minutes. There is no direct instruction involved in this plan, just a list of materials and a procedure for...

This is an exceptional series that you can use in an environmental or engineering unit. There are four lessons: "Sustainable Transportation," "Designing for Safety," "Changing the Landscape," and "Engaging in Policy." Each lesson...

Students create and develop a travel mug. They create visuals and a three dimensional infomercial. They apply an engineering design and demonstrate knowledge of thermodynamics involved in heat transfer. They illustrate Newton's Law of...

Students analyze how medical devices that help the human body function. They work in pairs or groups to draw multiple views of the medical device and describe how engineering is used by biomedial engineers.

Students explore engineering by building a simple design in class. In this pencil creation lesson, students discuss their likes and dislikes with current writing utensils and design a new type of pencil. Students utilize arts and crafts...

Students explore physical education by completing a quiz in class. In this engineering lesson, students identify different ways engineering has made sports safer such as stronger padding and helmets, stronger equipment and smarter...

Elementary engineers design a dog house suitable for a large dog according to specific criteria. Students create a design for a doghouse that allows their dog to grow, protects him from the elements, and keeps food and water dishes...

Students experiment with making a water filtration system. For this engineering lesson, students get into groups and are challenged to use only eight items to create a water filter. When finished, students compare and contrast their...

Students work in teams to design and build a working robotic arm using everyday items. In this building robots lesson plan students develop an understanding of design processes and the impact that technology has in manufacturing. 

Skyscrapers are amazing feats of architectural design that create the iconic skylines of the world's biggest cities. Young architects explore the defining characteristics of these monstrous towers with the first lesson in this four-part...

A well-laid-out lesson plan, this can be used in an engineering, STEM, or physical science course. Laboratory groups design a structure using pasta and marshmallows, measure its height and weight, and then discover the load that it can...

Young scholars illustrate the chemical differences between surface and tap-water. They investigate the common chemical and physical parameters relevant for water quality and gain hands on experience with water quality testing. They...

Students demonstrate tension and compression using real world examples. In this forces lesson, students demonstrate tension on a suspension bridge. They demonstrate compression on different roof designs.

Students build a model of a suspension bridge and test the amount of weight it will support. In this engineering lesson, students study types of bridges and attempt to construct a suspension bridge shown in a diagram. They use string and...

High schoolers comprehend what has been explored in the previous earthquake engineering design lessons, by putting their designs to the test. They are given pairs a piece of paper, and an empty plastic bottle or can. Students stand the...

Using Microsoft Word, students will construct a "web page" with hyperlinks to real sites. Students will learn Internet terminology, search strategies, and design techniques. Teacher may also use TechnoLink, an external computer...

Seventh graders explore general structure of and natural changes that occur in DNA strands, and discuss concept of genetic engineering by creating small portion of strawberry chromosome with three genes, modeling naturally occurring...

Help your class understand the importance of exploration using robots. with a resource that provides a short history of robotics as a lead into looking at Martian robotic exploration missions. The activity specifically looks at the...

Let me get an angle on this! Investigate the orientation of a photovoltaic panel and its effect on efficiency. By using a light source, learners collect and plot current output to determine the ultimate orientation. The resource includes...

In this second of three activities, energy engineers plan and create a hydropower dam as they learn how hydroelectric power plants generate electricity. A hydropower puzzle is also included, which can be worked on by teams that finish...

Using a remote-controlled robot, junior engineers simulate a hazardous materials removal exercise. This activity will introduce students to the following careers: robotics technician, hazardous materials specialist, environmental...

Learners conduct Internet research in order to better understand the concepts of sustainable health design. For this design and architecture lesson, students gather data and creat a materials kit that responds to the challenges of health...

Definitely for high schoolers, this lesson is an open-ended exploration of energy efficiency. Groups of two to three junior environmental engineers design an experiment to test for efficiency. They prepare a full lab report and...

Students design and build original mobiles and consider how the forces of gravity and convection air currents affect the finished piece. They explore how an understanding of balancing forces is important in both art and engineering design.