Today we will engineer air powered rockets. To do this we will: Watch a video and note the shape of rockets and learn about countdown and liftoff Name shapes as we brainstorm and sketch plans Build
By creating a stop motion animation, students will gain a deeper understanding of how landforms develop, are weathered, and erode. This is an engaging way to help infer the history of the current
In this hands-on lesson, students learn about the discipline of structural engineering by using the engineering design process to create a load-bearing structure. The purpose of this lesson is to
In this hands-on lesson, students will test how long an ice cube takes to melt in the classroom. They will then design and build a structure that will prevent a 1-gram ice cube from melting completely
In this hands-on lesson, students explore force and motion. They will plan the construction of a slide for a marble that will show how the unbalanced force of gravity will act on the marble in order
In this lesson students model the process of speciation using Skittles. As they work through the story, students see how changing geography can change the traits in a species and how over time these
In this engaging lesson, students complete 2 labs to investigate and analyze how the force of gravity impacts objects. The lesson is formatted for Argument Driven Inquiry design, which means it starts
In this engaging lesson, students will model a standing transverse wave using a slinky and collect measurements to find the amplitude, wavelength, and frequency of their wave in order to calculate the
In this creative lesson, students will use a slinky to model two types of waves: longitudinal/compression waves and transverse waves. Through class exploration, students will first practice making the
In this engaging and creative lesson, students get a feel of what it is like to be a chemical or materials engineer. Each group will make their own bioplastic using cornstarch, vinegar, water, and
In this creative and engaging lesson, students will create a card that incorporates a circuit design to add a light component.
In this engaging lesson, students construct a real solar oven, cook food, gather data, and analyze the data to interpret if their oven was successful or not. The lesson culminates with a presentation.
In this hands-on lesson, students will model transfer of kinetic energy by preparing and measuring the temperature of two equal quantities of water, before mixing them together and then measuring the
This hands-on lesson is geared towards an introduction to engineering and electronics in creating a simple nanobot from cardboard, a coin battery, and vibrating motor. Students use the engineering
In this hands-on lesson, students will plan, build and create a roller coaster from random materials that a Ping Pong ball can travel through. Students engage in the engineering design process as they
The scenario is that you are heading to the moon to do a year residency program. You desire a “radio tower” to be built so that you can communicate with your friends back on Earth. This Challenge
In this lesson students will work in groups to design a new weather instrument that will better predict weather. They will do a gallery walk and have the opportunity to redesign based on feedback
This lesson includes 1 or 2- 50 minute period(s) worth of particle pollution exploration. Students are creating an explanation of events for carbon dioxide and particle pollution detection, creating
Students will use the engineering design process to plan and create a robotic arm that could be used in space exploration to places like Mars.
This lesson uses the children’s book The Seed and the Giant Saguaro to teach about plant and wildlife habitat in the Sonoran Desert. It includes story reading, discussion, a field experience, writing
Students will establish teams and use STEM skills to create models of a Phobos Base that fits in an imaginary 80cm cube and sits on a 1-meter project base. It includes facilities, rocket landing site
This lesson will explore how bees are essential to plant life and, therefore, human life. Students will learn about how social bees work together. They will also investigate why some bee populations
Students will learn about balanced vs unbalanced forces by trying to rescue bears from the "Lava" (the table) using certain given supplies.
Featured Lesson Plans
Check out these notable lesson plans.

Treehouse Design
Students will research, design and build a treehouse using the engineering design process. They will practice budgeting by pretending to have $100 to spend by using a supply budget sheet. Students

Space Case Chapters 1-7
This is the 2nd set of 4 lesson plans that correlate with the novel "Space Case" by Stuart Gibbs. This is a literature-inspired project base learning opportunity. The lessons include straw rockets

Splash of Science
Students measure the temperature of water as it cools to learn about heat transfer and thermal properties while using line of best fit, linear regressions and/or quadratic regressions.