Partner Resource Traveling Sound PostedJune 18, 2019 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/cub_energy2_lesson05_activity2 Students explore how sound waves move through liquids, solids and gases in a series of simple sound energy experiments. Understanding the properties of sound and how sound waves travel helps engineers determine the best room shape and construction materials when designing sound recording studios, classrooms, libraries, concert halls and theatres. Read More Q&A0
Partner Resource Design Step 1: Identify the Need PostedJune 18, 2019 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/cub_creative_activity1 Students practice the initial steps involved in an engineering design challenge. They begin by reviewing the steps of the engineering design loop and discussing the client need for the project. Next, they identify a relevant context, define the problem within their design teams, and examine the project's requirements and constraints. (Note: Conduct this activity in the context of a design project that students are working on, which could be a challenge determined by the teacher, brainstormed with the class, or the example project challenge provided [to design a prosthetic arm that can perform a mechanical function].) Read More Q&A0
Partner Resource Powerful Pulleys PostedJune 18, 2019 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/cub_simple_lesson05 Students continue to explore the story of building a pyramid, learning about the simple machine called a pulley. They learn how a pulley can be used to change the direction of applied forces and move/lift extremely heavy objects, and the powerful mechanical advantages of using a multiple-pulley system. Students perform a simple demonstration to see the mechanical advantage of using a pulley, and they identify modern day engineering applications of pulleys. In a hands-on activity, they see how a pulley can change the direction of a force, the difference between fixed and movable pulleys, and the mechanical advantage gained with multiple / combined pulleys. They also learn the many ways engineers use pulleys for everyday purposes. Read More Q&A0
Partner Resource Natural Disasters: Earthquakes, Volcanoes, Tornadoes & More PostedJune 18, 2019 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/curricularunits/view/cub_natdis_curricularunit Students are introduced to our planet's structure and its dynamic system of natural forces through an examination of the natural hazards of earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides, tsunamis, floods and tornadoes, as well as avalanches, fires, hurricanes and thunderstorms. They see how these natural events become disasters when they impact people, and how engineers help to make people safe from them. Students begin by learning about the structure of the Earth; they create clay models showing the Earth's layers, see a continental drift demo, calculate drift over time, and make fault models. They learn how earthquakes happen; they investigate the integrity of structural designs using model seismographs. Using toothpicks and mini-marshmallows, they create and test structures in a simulated earthquake on a tray of Jell-O. Students learn about the causes, composition and types of volcanoes, and watch and measure a class mock eruption demo, observing the phases that change a mountain's shape. ... Read More Q&A0
The Secret to Success in Elementary STEM Education PostedJune 10, 2019 UpdatedJune 10, 2019 Posted byEric Iversen http://start-engineering.com/start-engineering-now/2019/6/6/the-secret-to-succes... Elementary teachers are great all-around educators. There just aren’t enough of them prepared to teach STEM fields. Integrating STEM into their training and support plays to their strengths. Here are some successful approaches for doing so, at all stages of their learning and development. Read More Average Ratings 0 Reviews0 Q&A0
Kate Gramling, LinkEngineering Community manager Out of this World Reading PostedJune 3, 2019 AT 4:51 PM Expand your horizons with science fiction this summer Read More
The Wesley School's Project Based Learning Middle School Science Program PostedMay 26, 2019 UpdatedMay 26, 2019 Posted byJenny Soriano https://docs.google.com/document/d/1uy4BcHtjjs6IUl8V9fCCTckssbEvdvyWFm1P_1X2B04/... Take a peek of this academic year's various project-based learning activities to better support conceptual understanding of topics in 8th grade science. Read More Average Ratings 0 Reviews0 Q&A0
NASA eClips™ PostedMay 16, 2019 UpdatedMay 16, 2019 Posted byJoan Harper-Neely https://nasaeclips.arc.nasa.gov/ NASA eClips is a NASA-supported project that brings together exciting video segments and resources with educational best practices to inspire and educate students to become 21st Century explorers. Read More Average Ratings 0 Reviews0 Q&A0
8 Great Videos to Teach the Engineering Design Process PostedMay 14, 2019 UpdatedMay 14, 2019 Posted byEric Iversen http://start-engineering.com/start-engineering-now/2019/4/3/8-great-videos-to-te... Videos about the engineering design process can make an abstract, seemingly vague topic into something interesting and fun for students to learn about and apply. These 8 videos run the gamut of approach and emphasis, but all deliver a useful, engaging treatment of the issue. There’s something here for all ages, from elementary to high school. Read More Average Ratings 0 Reviews0 Q&A0
Kate Gramling, LinkEngineering Community manager Options, Endings, & Failure PostedApril 30, 2019 AT 5:21 PM As educators & leaders we can have a big influence on students learn to recover from failure Read More
Collaborative problem solvers are made not born – here’s what you need to know PostedApril 30, 2019 UpdatedApril 30, 2019 Posted byKate Gramling https://theconversation.com/collaborative-problem-solvers-are-made-not-born-here... Evidence suggests that, for the most part, students aren’t being taught the skills needed for effective collaborative problem-solving. Read More Average Ratings 0 Reviews0 Q&A0
Changing the Game in STEM with Family Engagement PostedApril 18, 2019 UpdatedApril 18, 2019 Posted byLinda Kekelis https://43ot971vwwe7okplr1iw2ql1-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019... A white paper for practitioners and field leaders to empower families in STEM. Leaders of innovative STEM program are showing how to bring parents to the table as key stakeholders, empower parents with resources, bridge research and practice, and implement family engagement at scale. With this white paper we want to raise awareness of innovative efforts and challenge program leaders, funders, corporate partners, and policy-makers to act on family engagement. Read More Average Ratings 0 Reviews0 Q&A0
Leonardo Joined Art with Engineering PostedApril 17, 2019 UpdatedApril 17, 2019 Posted byKate Gramling https://theconversation.com/leonardo-joined-art-with-engineering-113967 A fascinating article on how art and the study of art can invigorate work in STEM fields. Read More Average Ratings 0 Reviews0 Q&A0
Partner Resource Up, Up and Away! - Airplanes PostedApril 16, 2019 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/curricularunits/view/cub_airplanes_curricularun... The airplanes unit begins with a lesson on how airplanes create lift, which involves a discussion of air pressure and how wings use Bernoulli's principle to change air pressure. Next, students explore the other three forces acting on airplanes—thrust, weight and drag. Following these lessons, students learn how airplanes are controlled and use paper airplanes to demonstrate these principles. The final lessons addresses societal and technological impacts that airplanes have had on our world. Students learn about different kinds of airplanes and then design and build their own balsa wood airplanes based on what they have learned. Read More Q&A0
Partner Resource Straw Bridges (for Informal Learning) PostedApril 16, 2019 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/sprinkles/view/cub_strawbridges_sprinkle Students design, build and test truss bridges made of straws and tape to see how much weight they can support. Read More Q&A0
Partner Resource Maximum Mentos Fountain PostedApril 11, 2019 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/ucd_energy_lesson03_activity1 Students play the role of engineers as they test, design and build Mentos® fountains—a dramatic example of how potential energy (stored energy) can be converted to kinetic energy (motion). They are challenged to work together as a class to optimize the design of the basic soda/candy geyser made by the teacher. To do this, three research teams each investigate how a different variable—nozzle shape, soda temperature, number of candies—affects fountain height. They devise and run experimental tests to determine the best variable values. Then they combine their results to design the highest fountain to compete head-to-head with the teacher's geyser design. Read More Q&A0
Partner Resource Paper Airplanes: Building, Testing, & Improving. Heads Up! PostedApril 11, 2019 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/cub_airplanes_lesson06_activity... Students learn the different airplane parts, including wing, flap, aileron, fuselage, cockpit, propeller, spinner, engine, tail, rudder, elevator. Then they each build one of four different (provided) paper airplane (really, glider) designs with instructions, which they test in three trials, measuring flight distance and time. Then they design and build (fold, cut) a second paper airplane design of their own creation, which they also test for flight distance and time. They graph the collected class data. Analysis of these experiments with "model" airplanes and their results help them see and figure out what makes airplanes fly and what can be changed to influence the flying characteristics and performance of airplanes. Read More Q&A0
Partner Resource Buoyant Boats PostedApril 9, 2019 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/activities/view/duk_boat_mary_act Students conduct a simple experiment to see how the water level changes in a beaker when a lump of clay sinks in the water and when the same lump of clay is shaped into a bowl that floats in the water. They notice that the floating clay displaces more water than the sinking clay does, perhaps a surprising result. Then they determine the mass of water that is displaced when the clay floats in the water. A comparison of this mass to the mass of the clay itself reveals that they are approximately the same. Read More Q&A0
Partner Resource Move It! Conservation of Energy & Energy Transfer in Crashes PostedApril 9, 2019 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/duk_consenergy_rde_less Students learn how the conservation of energy applies to impact situations such as a car crash or a falling objects. Mechanical energy is the most easily understood form of energy for students. When mechanical energy is involved, something moves. Mechanical energy is a very important concept to understand. Engineers need to know what happens when something heavy falls from a long distance changing its potential energy into kinetic energy. Automotive engineers need to know what happens when cars crash into each other, and why they can do so much damage, even at low speeds! Our knowledge of mechanical energy is used to help design things like bridges, engines, cars, tools, parachutes and even buildings! Read More Q&A0
Partner Resource Engineering the Heart: Heart Valves PostedApril 9, 2019 Posted byTeach Engineering Team https://www.teachengineering.org/lessons/view/cub_heartvalves_lesson01 Students learn how healthy human heart valves function and the different diseases that can affect heart valves. They also learn about devices and procedures that biomedical engineers have designed to help people with damaged or diseased heart valves. Students learn about the pros and cons of different materials and how doctors choose which engineered artificial heart valves are appropriate for certain people. Read More Q&A0