Partner Resource Bulbs & Batteries Side by Side PostedJanuary 29, 2018 UpdatedJanuary 29, 2018 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/cub_electricity_lesson06_activi... We are surrounded everyday by circuits that utilize "in parallel" and "in series" circuitry. Complicated circuits designed by engineers are made of many simpler parallel and series circuits. In this hands-on activity, students build parallel circuits, exploring how they function and their unique features. Read More Q&A;0
Partner Resource Energy Resources and Systems PostedJanuary 27, 2018 UpdatedJanuary 29, 2018 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/cla_lesson5_energy_sources_systems Several activities are included to teach and research the differences between renewable and non-renewable resources and various energy resources. Students work with a quantitative, but simple model of energy resources to show how rapidly finite, non-renewable energy sources can be depleted, compared to the ongoing availability of renewable resources. Then they complete a homework assignment (or a longer, in-depth research project) to learn how various technologies capture energy resources for human uses, and their pros and cons. Fact sheets help them get started on their investigations of assigned energy sources. Read More Q&A;0
Partner Resource What to Wear? What to Drink? Weather Patterns and Climatic Regions PostedJanuary 26, 2018 UpdatedJanuary 29, 2018 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/cub_earth_lesson3 How does our climate affect us? How do we decide what to wear each day? What factors determine if our clothing choices are comfortable? What is the source of our water? Students explore characteristics that define climatic regions. They learn how tropical, desert, coastal and alpine climates result in different lifestyles, clothing, water sources and food options for the people who live there. They learn that a location's latitude, altitude, land features, weather conditions and distance from large bodies of water, determines its climate. Students discuss how engineers help us adapt to all climates by designing clothing, shelters, weather technologies and clean water systems. Read More Q&A;0
Partner Resource The Earth is a Changin' PostedJanuary 26, 2018 UpdatedJanuary 29, 2018 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/cub_earth_lesson5 Students are introduced to the primary types of erosion—by chemical, water, wind, glacier and temperature. They learn examples of each erosion type and discuss how erosion changes the surface of the Earth. Students also learn why engineers need to be aware of the different types of erosion in order to protect structures and landmarks from the damaging effects erosion can cause. Read More Q&A;0
Partner Resource Dams PostedJanuary 26, 2018 UpdatedJanuary 29, 2018 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/curricularunits/view/cub_dams Through eight lessons, students are introduced to many facets of dams, including their basic components, the common types (all designed to resist strong forces), their primary benefits (electricity generation, water supply, flood control, irrigation, recreation), and their importance (historically, currently and globally). Through an introduction to kinetic and potential energy, students come to understand how dams generate electricity. They learn about the structure, function and purpose of locks, which involves an introduction to Pascal's law, water pressure and gravity. Other lessons introduce students to common environmental impacts of dams and the engineering approaches to address them. They learn about the life cycle of salmon and the many engineered dam structures that aid in their river passage, as they think of their own methods and devices that could help fish migrate past dams. Students learn how dams and reservoirs become part of the Earth's hydrologic cycle, focusing ... Read More Q&A;0
Partner Resource Fresh or Salty? PostedJanuary 26, 2018 UpdatedJanuary 29, 2018 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/cub_earth_lesson2 Between 70 and 75% of the Earth's surface is covered with water and there exists still more water in the atmosphere and underground in aquifers. In this lesson, students learn about water bodies on the planet Earth and their various uses and qualities. They will learn about several ways that engineers are working to maintain and conserve water sources. They will also think about their role in water conservation. Read More Q&A;0
Shelley Latham, Linkengineering.org Community Manager Inspiring Wonder: How to Prepare for Engineers Week PostedJanuary 23, 2018 AT 12:34 PM What are you going to do to celebrate engineering in your community? We have lots of ideas to get you started. Read More
Partner Resource Oil: Clean It Up! PostedJanuary 20, 2018 UpdatedJanuary 29, 2018 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/makerchallenges/view/rice-2257-clean-it-up-oil-... Student teams create, test and improve oil spill cleanup kits, designing them to be inexpensive and accessible for homeowners to use or for big companies to give to individual workers to aid in personal home, community or corporate environmental oil cleanup. After deciding on a target user and scenario, teams conduct research and draw from an assortment of ordinary materials and supplies made available by the teacher. As a concluding gallery walk, each group presents its final prototype and summary poster to the rest of the class. Read More Q&A;0
Partner Resource Magnitude of the Richter Scale PostedJanuary 17, 2018 UpdatedJanuary 19, 2018 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/cub_natdis_lesson03_activity4 In this activity, students learn about the Richter Scale for measuring earthquakes. The students make a booklet with drawings that represent each rating of the Richter Scale. Read More Q&A;0
Partner Resource Prosthetic Party PostedJanuary 13, 2018 UpdatedJanuary 19, 2018 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/cub_biomed_lesson01_activity1 Student teams investigate biomedical engineering and the technology of prosthetics. Students create lower-leg prosthetic prototypes using various ordinary materials. Each team demonstrate its device's strength and consider its pros and cons, giving insight into the characteristics and materials biomedical engineers consider in designing artificial limbs. Read More Q&A;0
Partner Resource Backyard Weather Station PostedJanuary 13, 2018 UpdatedJanuary 19, 2018 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/cub_weather_lesson04_activity1 Students use their senses to describe what the weather is doing and predict what it might do next. After gaining a basic understanding of weather patterns, students act as state park engineers and design/build backyard weather stations to gather data and make weather forecasts. Read More Q&A;0
Partner Resource Balsa Towers PostedJanuary 12, 2018 UpdatedJanuary 19, 2018 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/duk_balsa_tech_act Students groups use balsa wood and glue to build their own towers using some of the techniques they learned from the associated lesson. While general guidelines are provided, give students freedom with their designs and encourage them to implement what they have learned about structural engineering. The winning team design is the tower with the highest strength-to-weight ratio. Read More Q&A;0
Partner Resource Protect That Pill PostedJanuary 10, 2018 UpdatedJanuary 19, 2018 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/cub_biomed_lesson05_activity1 Students reinforce their knowledge of the different parts of the digestive system and explore the concept of simulation by developing a pill coating that can withstand the churning actions and acidic environment found in the stomach. Teams test the coating durability by using a clear soda to simulate stomach acid. Read More Q&A;0
Partner Resource Photovoltaic Efficiency PostedJanuary 10, 2018 UpdatedJanuary 19, 2018 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/curricularunits/view/cub_pveff_curricularunit Through a series of four lessons, students are introduced to many factors that affect the power output of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels. Factors such as the angle of the sun, panel temperature, specific circuit characteristics, and reflected radiation determine the efficiency of solar panels. These four lessons are paired with hands-on activities in which students design, build and test small photovoltaic systems. Students collect their own data, and examine different variables to determine their effects on the efficiency of PV panels to generate electrical power. Read More Q&A;0
Partner Resource 1 Experience Static Cling PostedJanuary 9, 2018 UpdatedJanuary 10, 2018 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/cub_electricity_lesson01_activi... This hands-on activity explores the concept of static electricity. Students enact a "human diagram" of the Bohr model of an atom. Then, in pairs, they charge a comb (on hair) and use it to attract an O-shaped piece of cereal and then watch the cereal jump away when it touches the comb. They do the same with Styrofoam pellets, observing them pulling towards a charged comb, then leaping back to the table. Students gain an understanding of what's going on at the atomic level. Read More Q&A;0
Shelley Latham, Linkengineering.org Community Manager Link to Mentoring Opportunities and Make a Difference PostedJanuary 9, 2018 AT 6:37 AM Thinking of mentoring or finding a mentor? We've compiled 20+ programs to get you started. Read More
Partner Resource Building Arduino Light Sculptures PostedJanuary 8, 2018 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/makerchallenges/view/cub-2131-building-light-sc... Students are challenged to design their own small-sized prototype light sculptures to light up a hypothetical courtyard. To accomplish this, they use Arduino microcontrollers as the “brains” of the projects and control light displays composed of numerous (3+) light-emitting diodes (LEDs). With this challenge, students further their learning of Arduino fundamentals by exploring one important microcontroller capability—the control of external circuits. The Arduino microcontroller is a powerful yet easy-to-learn platform for learning computer programing and electronics. LEDs provide immediate visual success/failure feedback, and the unlimited variety of possible results are dazzling! Read More Q&A;0
Partner Resource Weather Basics PostedJanuary 7, 2018 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/cub_weather_lesson01 Students are introduced to the basics of the Earth's weather. Concepts include fundamental causes of common weather phenomena such as temperature changes, wind, clouds, rain and snow. The different factors that affect the weather and the instruments that measure weather data are also addressed. Read More Q&A;0
Partner Resource Hidden in Plain Sight PostedJanuary 5, 2018 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/uno_plainsight_lesson01 Steganography is the science and art of hiding messages in plain sight so only the sender and intended recipient know the existence of a message. Steganography can be characterized as security through obscurity. Through this lesson, students experience a portion of the engineering design process as they research steganography and steganographic methods; identify problems, criteria and constraints; brainstorm possible solutions; and generate ideas. These are the critical first steps in the engineering design process, often overlooked by students who want to get to the "doing" phases—designing, building and testing. In computer science, a thorough design phase makes program implementation much easier and more effective. Students obtain practice with a portion of the design process that may be less exciting, but is just as important as the other steps in the process. Read More Q&A;0
Partner Resource Computer Simulation of the Sonoran Desert Community PostedDecember 31, 2017 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/van_biomimicry_activity4 Use of the computer program's simulation of a Sonoran Desert community ultimately strengthens students' comprehension of what is required for a natural ecosystem to sustain itself (remain in balance). This computer simulation program has great flexibility. Students can manipulate the population numbers of five Sonoran Desert species. A species natural history attachment provides vital information for students to familiarize themselves with each species' behaviors, niche and food resource needs. The program includes two producers, Saguaro cactus and Ironwood Tree. It also includes three consumers, but their interactions both toward the producers and each other differ. The community's ability to remain in balance and sustain all five species so that none die out rests on students' assessment skills enabling them to correctly identify these dependencies. Students learn by trial and error as they continue to fine tune the ecosystem for which they maintain stewardship. Read More Q&A;0