The Great Egg Drop Challenge

This challenge is a great 2-3 lesson activity that can be used to introduce the students to the engineering design process. Grades: 3-8 grades . Cost: $10, but that can be decreased by asking more from your students. Time: 2-3 lessons . Difficulty Level: Low. The attached worksheets introduce the problem and step the students through the engineering design process.

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Excellent Periodic Table Resource

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Link

Blueprint Photography

This fledgling activity explores photography, chemistry, physics, engineering, and math. Because developing curricula is no longer a full-time job for me, this activity may never be finished, but if you like it and want to add something, or if you have a comment, please see the "Contact Information" at the right hand side of the blog or click the small envelope icon at the bottom of this post to send me an email. I'd be happy to discuss it with you!

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Blueprint Photography activity.

A useful reference for building with toys

The following website provides a nice list of online resources for LEGO and K'NEX buidling toys. If you are an educator, check out ebay.com for lower prices on used (and often combined) kits for use in your classrooms.

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LINK HERE for the website

Scooped by the NY Times!

This article I wrote about our on-line collaboration was scooped on Saturday in the New York Times "Your Money" section. Bummer. Which is a better article? You decide.

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New York Times Your Money article of June 17, 2006.

World Languages & Cultures - Desalination Lesson

Grade level: 8
Time required: 5-10 class periods
Cost: $0
MA frameworks: see activity sheets for exact frameworks.

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This suite of worksheets and lesson plans offers world language and culture teachers an opportunity to collaborate with science, social studies, and computer science teachers working on the solar desalination still project described elsewhere on this website. The documents include lesson plans, student worksheets, and education framework references.

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LINK HERE for the foreign language desalination lesson plans.

Aqueduct Challenge

Grade level: 7
Time required: 4 class periods
Cost: $100 for foam board and clay
MA frameworks: Social Studies Geography skill 1.

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This challenge activity allows students to learn about topographic maps, basic construction layout concepts, ancient aqueducts of the Romans, and the historical issues surrounding water supplies.

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LINK HERE for the aqueduct challenge worksheet.

Wind Turbine Design Challenge

Grade level: 8
Time required: 5 class periods
Cost: $0 if recycled materials are used.
MA frameworks: Technology/Engineering 2.1 - 2.5, also basic physics concepts of work, power.

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This challenge allows students to explore both the structural design required for supporting a wind turbine during generation and the blade design needed to create the most power from a given wind resource. Issues of structural integrity, electrical energy, work & power calculations, and the equivalence of different forms of energy can be addresed.

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LINK HERE for the Wind Turbine Design Challenge Worksheet.

Paper Pet Genomics and Genetic Counselling

Grade level: 7
Time required: 5-10 class periods, depending upon depth of exploration
Cost: $0
MA frameworks: Life science 7, 8, 9.

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This activity extends the "Paper Pets" activity by adding a genome component. Students are provided a genome "map" of the paper pet and are asked to encode and decode the genome during each successive generation. Statistics can be kept about the changing genotypes and phenotypes in the population. A genetic disease is then described and students must detail a procedure that might be used to help those paper pets suffering from the disease. Issues of probability, genomics, Mendelian genetics, Punnett Squares, genetic disease, genetic counselling for parents, and gene splicing therapies can be addressed. This activity is similar to a previously posted activity, and it may be interesting to incorporate the use of the Robolab "DNA reader", but that has not been attempted yet.

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LINK HERE for the Paper Pet Genomics worksheet.

Passive Solar Home Design Challenge

This activity challenges students to build upon their knowledge of solar heating techniques to design a passive solar home. Topics of heat transfer (convection, conduction, radiation), insulation and conduction, graphing, and air flow can be addressed. NOTE: This activity was never implemented.

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LINK HERE for the Solar Home Challenge worksheet.

Appropriate tool use activity

Grade level: 5
Time required: 1 class period
Cost: $0 if tools are available
MA frameworks: Technology/Engineering 1.2, 1.3.

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This outline of an activity offers guidance to educators seeking to provide a hands-on experience with simple hand tools. Massachusetts technology framework "identify appropriate tool to complete a task" is addressed. Student safety is of utmost importance.

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LINK HERE for the Appropriate tool use description.

Hydraulic Arms, Simple Machines & Mathematics Word Problem

Grade level: 6
Time required: 3 class periods
Cost: $0 (after the hydraulic arms have been created)
MA frameworks: Mathematics 6.N.4, 6.N.5, 6.P.2, 6.P.4.

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This word problem explores the design of levers used in the hydraulic arm project. Students have a great deal of experience with the levers and the mechanical advantage during their hands-on project. Now they can use that expereince to develop an understanding of the mathematical techniques used to design levers.

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LINK HERE for the hydraulic arms, levers & math worksheet.

Sample Hydraulic Arm Designs

These hydraulic arms were designed, built, tested, redesigned, and improved by 6th grade students in Mrs. Carpenito's science class and Mr. Fitz's Technology class.

	Preparing engineering sketches of the hydraulic arms.
Assembling a prototype arm.
	Assembly and planning.
	Students pose with their creation. This project took a great deal of time and effort.
The same hydraulic arm with design journals in the foreground.
Students work together to design, test, and construct their hydraulic arm project.
	Planning, measuring, and laying out the work.
Cutting wooden parts for the hydraulic arm.
	Cutting wooden parts for the hydraulic arm.
It took lots of teamwork and preparation to complete this challenge with success!

Storm water mapping activity

Grade level: 7
Time required: 5 class periods
Cost: $30 for color printing and laminating maps
MA frameworks: Gr7 Geography skill 1.

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Students learn about mapping in this social studies lesson with science links. Creating a map of hometown allows mapping conventions, issues of scaling, topography, and water flow paths to be discussed.

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LINK HERE for the activity outline and map grading rubric.

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Resource for historical digital topographic maps.