Lessons & Activities

Lesson Spotlight

Looking for a smooth ride into the school year?

Have students drive their own learning in Motion Impossible!

Motion Impossible

In this three part challenge, students will design and test devices that can move a heart quickly and safely across land, water, or air.

Grades: 4-12
Duration: Three 60 minute sessions

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Like most of our resources, this lesson is aligned with the engineering strand of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

Next Generation Science Standards Engineering Progression Summarized

Grade Levels: K-12

Chart of the grade-level standards that engineering design challenges meet.

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More Plastic, More Problems: Using Ratios to Get Real

Duration: Five to seven 50-minute sessions

Grade Levels: 6

Design a device that removes garbage from the ocean while minimizing the number of animals collected.

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Microbes: MicroByre

Duration: 1 minute

Grade Levels: K-12

Video: Use this educational prompt to spark engagement: What's the smallest living thing you can think of?

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Medical Supply Availability

Duration: 180 minutes

Grade Levels: 6-8

Explore the problem of medical supply availability through design activities and a series of video clips.

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Mayday on Mars

Duration: Five 50-minute sessions

Grade Levels: 4-8

Use line plots to compare the trajectories of balloon-powered Mars vehicles.

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Materials: Strawcture Eco

Duration: 1 minute

Grade Levels: K-12

Video: Imagine you had to build a house with a material other than wood. What would you pick?

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Making with Microbes

Duration: Two 30 minute sessions, with 1-3 weeks between

Grade Levels: 6-8

Use fermented tea to grow your own unique piece of biomaterial and make something creative with it!

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Looking to the Past to Build the Future

Duration: Three to five 50-minute sessions

Grade Levels: K-2

Apply knowledge of homes from the past to design and construct a home that can withstand a windstorm.

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Just Dropping In

Duration: 65 minutes

Grade Levels: 4-12

Explore how expansion is related to movement by designing a device that controls the movement of a dropped ball.

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