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PostedOctober 14, 2020

Posted byTeach Engineering Team

https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/nyu_physical_computing_activity...

Students download the software needed to create Arduino programs and make sure their Arduino microcontrollers work correctly. Then, they connect an LED to the Arduino and type up and upload programs to the Arduino board to 1) make the LED blink on and off and 2) make the LED fade (brighten and then dim). Throughout, students reflect on what they've accomplished by answering questions and modifying the original programs and circuits in order to achieve new outcomes. A design challenge gives students a chance to demonstrate their understanding of actuators and Arduinos; they design a functioning system using an Arduino, at least three actuators and either a buzzer or toy motor. For their designs, students sketch, create and turn in a user's manual for the system (text description, commented program, detailed hardware diagram). Numerous worksheets and handouts are provided.

PostedOctober 6, 2020

Posted byTeach Engineering Team

https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/uoh_pirates_lesson01_activity1

Students experience the engineering design process as they design and construct lower-leg prostheses in response to a hypothetical zombie apocalypse scenario. Like the well-known Apollo 13 story during which engineers were challenged to fix the crippled spacecraft with limited supplies in order to save astronauts' lives, in this activity, students act as engineers during an imaginary disaster in which a group member's leg was amputated in order to survive a zombie attack. Building on what they learned and researched in the associated lesson, they design and fabricate a replacement prosthetic limb using given specific starting material and limited additional supplies, similar to how engineers design for individuals while working within constraints. A more-advanced scenario challenges students to design a prosthesis that is able to provide a more-specific movement function.

PostedOctober 6, 2020

Posted byTeach Engineering Team

https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/cub_mechanics_lesson05

Building upon their understanding of forces and Newton's laws of motion, students learn about the force of friction, specifically with respect to cars. They explore the friction between tires and the road to learn how it affects the movement of cars while driving. In an associated literacy activity, students explore the theme of conflict in literature, and the difference between internal and external conflict, and various types of conflicts. Stories are used to discuss methods of managing and resolving conflict and interpersonal friction.

PostedSeptember 28, 2020

Posted byTeach Engineering Team

https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/uof-2367-popsicle-engineering-d...

Beginning kindergarteners are introduced to science and engineering concepts through questions such as “What is a Scientist?” and “What is an Engineer?”, and go on to compare and contrast the two. They are introduced to seven steps of the engineering design process and explore these steps using the “I do, we do, you do” set of guided instruction. At the end of the project, students produce a set of purple popsicles that they design using various materials and by following a set of criteria.

PostedSeptember 28, 2020

Posted byTeach Engineering Team

https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/cub_human_lesson05

This lesson describes how the circulatory system works, including the heart, blood vessels and blood. Students learn about the chambers and valves of the heart, the difference between veins and arteries, and the different components of blood. This lesson also covers the technology engineers have developed to repair the heart if it is damaged. Students also understand how the circulatory system is affected during spaceflight (e.g., astronauts lose muscle in their heart during space travel).

PostedSeptember 26, 2020

Posted byTeach Engineering Team

https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/wpi_empathy_activity1

Students are challenged to design, build and test small-scale launchers while they learn and follow the steps of the engineering design process. For the challenge, the "slingers" must be able to aim and launch Ping-Pong balls 20 feet into a goal using ordinary building materials such as tape, string, plastic spoons, film canisters, plastic cups, rubber bands and paper clips. Students first learn about defining the problem and why each step of the process is important. Teams develop solutions and determine which is the best based on design requirements. After making drawings, constructing and testing prototypes, they evaluate the results and make recommendations for potential second-generation prototypes.

PostedSeptember 26, 2020

Posted byTeach Engineering Team

https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/wpi_empathy_activity1

Students are challenged to design, build and test small-scale launchers while they learn and follow the steps of the engineering design process. For the challenge, the "slingers" must be able to aim and launch Ping-Pong balls 20 feet into a goal using ordinary building materials such as tape, string, plastic spoons, film canisters, plastic cups, rubber bands and paper clips. Students first learn about defining the problem and why each step of the process is important. Teams develop solutions and determine which is the best based on design requirements. After making drawings, constructing and testing prototypes, they evaluate the results and make recommendations for potential second-generation prototypes.

PostedSeptember 22, 2020

Posted byTeach Engineering Team

https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/cub_bernoulli_lesson01

Bernoulli's principle relates the pressure of a fluid to its elevation and its speed. Bernoulli's equation can be used to approximate these parameters in water, air or any fluid that has very low viscosity. Students use the associated activity to learn about the relationships between the components of the Bernoulli equation through real-life engineering examples and practice problems.

PostedSeptember 20, 2020

Posted byTeach Engineering Team

https://www.teachengineering.org/curricularunits/view/cub_simple_curricularunit

Simple machines are devices with few or no moving parts that make work easier, and which people have used to provide mechanical advantage for thousands of years. Students learn about the wedge, wheel and axle, lever, inclined plane, screw and pulley in the context of the construction of a pyramid, gaining insights into tools that have been used since ancient times and are still important today. Through numerous hands-on activities, students imagine themselves as ancient engineers building a pyramid. Student teams evaluate and select a construction site, design a pyramid, perform materials calculations, test a variety of cutting wedges on different materials, design a small-scale cart/lever transport system to convey building materials, experiment with the angle of inclination and pull force on an inclined plane, see how a pulley can change the direction of force, and learn the differences between fixed, movable and combined pulleys. While learning the steps of the

PostedSeptember 17, 2020

Posted byTeach Engineering Team

https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/cub_flow_activity2

Students explore the densities and viscosities of fluids as they create a colorful 'rainbow' using household liquids. While letting the fluids in the rainbow settle, students conduct 'The Great Viscosity Race,' another short experiment that illustrates the difference between viscosity and density. Later, students record the density rainbow with sketches and/or photography.

PostedSeptember 4, 2020

Posted byTeach Engineering Team

https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/build_a_scale_model

Students create models of objects of their choice, giving them skills and practice in techniques used by professionals. They make sketches as they build their objects. This activity facilitates a discussion on models and their usefulness.

PostedSeptember 2, 2020

Posted byTeach Engineering Team

https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/cub_space8_lesson01_activity2

Working as if they were engineers, students design and construct model solar sails made of aluminum foil to move cardboard tube satellites through “space” on a string. Working in teams, they follow the engineering design thinking steps—ask, research, imagine, plan, create, test, improve—to design and test small-scale solar sails for satellites and space probes. During the process, learn about Newton’s laws of motion and the transfer of energy from wave energy to mechanical energy. A student activity worksheet is provided.

PostedSeptember 2, 2020

Posted byTeach Engineering Team

https://www.teachengineering.org/sprinkles/view/cub_spaghettibridge_sprinkle

Students design, build and test bridges made of uncooked spaghetti noodles.

PostedAugust 31, 2020

Posted byTeach Engineering Team

https://www.teachengineering.org/curricularunits/view/wst_environmental_unit

Students are introduced to the fundamentals of environmental engineering as well as the global air, land and water quality concerns facing today's environmental engineers. After a lesson and activity to introduce environmental engineering, students learn more about water chemistry aspects of environmental engineering. Specifically, they focus on groundwater contamination and remediation, including sources of contamination, adverse health effects of contaminated drinking water, and current and new remediation techniques. Several lab activities provide hands-on experiences with topics relevant to environmental engineering concerns and technologies, including removal efficiencies of activated carbon in water filtration, measuring pH, chromatography as a physical separation method, density and miscibility.