Browse K-12 STEM Curriculum. Catapult Challenge — Vivify. The Challenge Design and build two catapults.
Each catapult will undergo three different tests to determine accuracy and power. I have tried several versions of this challenge with my middle school students, and I believe the most successful activity is to have students build two catapults. Working in teams, students brainstorm ideas, select the top two designs, and complete three tests to determine the winning design. Ensure students have a key design difference between the two such as a different base, launcher, or axle. Disaster Engineering.
Hurricanes, tornadoes, and other destructive weather events offer timely “teachable moments” about the role of engineers in improving forecasts and reducing the toll from natural disasters.
Engineers design sturdier buildings and shore up coastlines. They operate drones – like the unmanned aerial vehicles in the above video deployed by Texas A&M researchers during Hurricane Harvey – that measure wind speeds and survey damage. Some create sophisticated software systems that allow aircraft to safely land and take off as deadly storms approach. Engineering and Tinkering: Sites & Projects. Newspaper Tower. Summary Student groups are challenged to design and construct model towers out of newspaper.
They are given limited supplies including newspaper, tape and scissors, paralleling the real-world limitations faced by engineers, such as economic restrictions as to how much material can be used in a structure. Test & Improve: Making Tall & Strong Recycled Towers - Activity. Summary Students learn about material reuse by designing and building the strongest and tallest towers they can using only recycled materials.
Teams brainstorm, sketch the best design and create the towers to meet the design constraints. Then they test their towers in earthquake and high-wind simulations, followed by redesigning, rebuilding and retesting. Engineering for the Three Little Pigs - Activity. Summary The purpose of this activity is to demonstrate the importance of rocks, soils and minerals in engineering and how using the right material for the right job is important.
Building for Hurricanes. Activity adapted by NASA’s Precipitation Measurement Missions from PBS Design Squad activity High Rise.
Click HERE for PDF of the activity and teacher’s guide or view online. For similar design challenges involving lateral wind gusts, see TeachEngineering’s Recycled Towers [Grades 3-5] and Newspaper Tower [Grades 6-8] A similar PBS Design Squad activity using newspaper can be found HERE. Design to Improve Life Education. Curiosity Machine. STEAM Presentation - Arts Integration and Technology. This list is not exhaustive, it's just a collection of the sites I visit most.
Check the Professional Reading link for articles, websites, and project ideas. Feel free to submit additional resources, too! Using technology to make, repair, or customize the things we need brings engineering, design, and computer science to students, giving them the opportunity to touch the future. Engineering Adventures Curriculum Units. Children's Engineering Teacher Resources. Great Starting - Great Places to Build Your Background!
Discover Engineering Try Engineering "TryEngineering.org is a resource for students (ages 8-18), their parents, their teachers and their school counselors. Children's Engineering Teacher Resources. Engineering Everywhere Curriculum Units. OpenRocket. Engineering For Change Webinar Series. 2D Design to 3D Print Creator. Non-Profit / Edu - Application. A Design Challenge to Students: Solve a Real-World Problem! Teaching Strategies Design Learning Challenge Creating a safe recreation space for teens; protoyping a recyclable lunch tray; setting up a water delivery system to guard against urban fires; building a public awareness campaign to combat hunger.
These are just a few of examples of the types of tasks students are taking on when they participate in the Design Learning Challenge, an effort to get students to figure out how to solve real-world problems in their communities. Combining project-based learning, with an emphasis on the arts and design thinking, this academic competition now in its third year — a partnership between the Industrial Designers Society of America, or IDSA, and the National Art Education Association, or NAEA — has more than 750 students participating this year. DESIGN SQUAD NATION . Home. Come play again later!
How to Get Into an Engineering School and the Path You Need to Take. Get to know: FIELD: Chemical Engineering and Physics Hear Joy talk about being a member of the National Service Sorority, as well as the National Society for Black Engineers, and what it was like working as a chemist for a nuclear company. Learn More Don't panic, because we did the work for you. BUILDING BIG: Home Page. Explore large structures and what it takes to build them with BUILDING BIG™, a five-part PBS television series and Web site from WGBH Boston.
Here are the main features of the site: Bridges, Domes, Skyscrapers, Dams, and Tunnels. The Labs Try your hand at our interactive engineering labs. The Challenges Take on the challenges of building big. Wonders of the World Databank Explore our databank of big structures. Local Wonders Investigate big structures near you. Who Builds Big? About the Series Learn more about the shows, and see a chat with David Macaulay. Educators' Guide How to use the Web site, with hands-on activities. Shop Building Big DVDs and books from David Macaulay available at ShopPBS.org. Site Tour Learn more about the features in this site. Site Map The whole site at a glance. Web Credits.